The Splendid Adventures of Max and Naruto
by markatzuli
Summary: Max is a high school student who has extraordinary abilities. He also knows ninjutsu. He is also an avid fan of MLP. While one day, a mysterious portal opens in his world, he discovers it's a world that perfectly describes the show he's hooked. Not only that, but his friend Naruto comes along as well. Could it be a coincidence? Note: Rating may change.
1. What? A Portal Opens!

**Introduction**

Hey, guys! It's my first time writing a fan fiction, so I'll need a good amount of reviews and the help I need to see if I have to do some improvements. And I mean it, feel free TO BE A GRAMMAR NAZI. Even though I'm familiar with English, I'm not fluent in it. This is an MLP/Naruto crossover, plus an OC.

**Legend:**

Narrative and speech

_Thoughts_

**Clues, terms and hints**

As he was seated in the right side of the school bus, with Ema Skye in his left, he stared out of the window, recalling the events that transpired throughout the whole year. Some are scary, some are awesome, some are sad, and some have mixed emotions. _"I'm at the end of my school days in third year, the last day, the farewell party. Right now, I'm feeling sappy."_ he thought with a stare outside the bus, still aware of his batch mate Ema, but not a classmate.

Inside the bus was the noisy batch of students: they have been proud of Max's achievements and his expertise in the games he performed when he was in school. In fact, they are so happy and proud, even the bus driver didn't mind the noise; all he cared is for the young men and women have their happy time.

"Hey, let's gather in the Mall of America! We shall celebrate the victories Max has won for us!" one proposed.

"Well, it's too early for me. It looks like we are having a reunion with our batch after 1 decade, but it's technically not a reunion, so I approve of this." another one said, leaning at a corner.

"Let's play paintball: Boys vs. girls! Then, Team Max vs. Team Ron!" Ron said as he recalled the rivalry between Max and himself, with Max having no interest in having a rivalry with him but accepted it without enthusiasm.

Ron is a teenager with a height of 5'5. He has a white complexion, and sports a white shirt hugged by a blue jacket. He has blue eyes, and wears blue jeans standing over Nike shoes. His hair is confusion: Hair spikes looks down on his right side of his head, and four, large spikes look up on his left.

"But wait, we should consult our master. Max, do you approve?" one said as stared on Max, sending the "I'm begging you" message.

He transitioned his eyes to them, and gave a reply: "Yep. I'm sure of it. Go ahead, formulate your plans. Just don't have too much fun; you'll end up wasted in the floor. Oh, and not too much liquor. It's bad for your liver and for yourselves." He said with a smile.

The whole batch roared with screams of excitement, and it was so influential, even the driver straightened his back as if touched by fire, paid attentively to his senses, eyes on the road, and ears on the students. It was a sudden surge of ecstasy for them. Hearing about Max's decision, they immediately planned what to do. One pulled out a notebook full of pages with a format specially designed for organizing.

Ron yelled, pointing at the boy, "He is credit to batch!"

As the bus stopped and had its doors open, Max stood up with his bag, saying, "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Everyone heard him. They formed two straight lines of students facing each other. As Max passed through on each pair, they simultaneously saluted. _"Fans. Always like this."_ He thought.

As he turned around to look at the bus once more, he saw them so happy. He smiled back, flooded with joy as he turned the knob on the door. With a click, he quicly got inside of his house.

He's living all alone in his house that he bought with the money he earned along with his brother, Simon/Gant, as he usually saves insane numbers of them. He flicked the switch and one by one, the lights awakened, showing the living room, with a flight of stairs in the left, and a table in the right. He used his legs to jump quickly up to the second floor, and to the door of his own room. He opened the door, showing a fairly wide and neat room, with the bookshelf in the near left clean and dust-free, books placed in order, a comfy bed far left and a window far middle in the wall that provides a decent birds-eye view with a computer set in the right, flat-screen, complete with necessary hardware, closet, middle left, with a large mirror, and some hygienic stuff.

As he put down his bag, he gazed at the clock, showing it's 4:25. _"I think I'll take a nap."_ He said to himself as he tucked in the bed after changing his clothes. As soon as he lay down on the soft mattress, his body got offline for good.

A bright light emanated from his side that caused his wake. He scratched his spiky hair as he looked at the clock, pointing its hands that tell him it's 6:00 PM. He tilted his head lazily to the right, and sprang up when he saw something that is scientifically impossible. A portal that is in perfect circle. It has a thin, bright border, while in its middle shows an image of a grassy hill. As he examined the details carefully, he saw spears, and helmets made of gold, with a brush on top of it. Strangely, it seemed so familiar.

He said in a sleepy voice, "Dafuq is a portal doing here?"

He came up with an idea. He crossed his two hands with two fingers, and said, _"Wood clone Jutsu!"_

He stared at the portal, and then to his clone, saying "Stay here. You are a **repeating clone**. You can send info anytime to me while I'm away. You also can't disappear until I dispel you so. For the meantime, act as the real me. Do leisure and productive activities, okay? And send me the info you gathered right before you sleep. I'm gonna go to Equestria."

"Got it." His clone replied. A hand seal was performed by the clone to create another clone.

Max put on his travelling set, then wore the Akatsuki robes he made. He carried a lot of kunai and shuriken, different kinds of explosive tags and explosives, and a large roll of wire string. As he inhaled and exhaled, he braced himself. _"Hello, Equestria."_ The clone's clone and Max jumped into the portal, and it closed, leaving no trace of anything happened recently.

* * *

So, do you like it? I'm gonna release chapters every week because of school days. But anyway, I'm working on the next chapter. Sorry again for grammar mistakes because, second language.


	2. Meet The Princess!

**Chapter 2 – Meet The Princess!**

**Note:** I purposely misspelled offensive words as it makes me uncomfortable to type the real thing.

**Legend:**

Narrative and speech

_Thoughts _

**Clues, Terms and Hints**

Max soon found himself lying in the grass, unable to move in a second, his eyes closed. He can feel the cool air blow onto his hair and face. It was relaxing…soothing…it clears the mind…

Until suddenly…

What it seemed to be a yellow red flash of light in his eyes flew just right above his body. _"That must be a fireball…oh fahk!"_He realized that he was still lying on the ground when **it** passed over him. He jumped up… and the first thing that caught his eye was a town from the hill that he was. It was Ponyville, peaceful. It seemed like a sanctuary for the average pony. But one thing troubled him. He was lying earlier, and he wondered.

"_What is that that thing that flew over me?"_

He looked up, and he saw a giant, scaly green claw descend upon him.

Somepony shouted: "Watch out!"

Max faced the pony. It has a flowing mane and a tail consisting of four colors: Light cerulean, light turquoise, very light cobalt blue, and pale heliotrope. It has a white coat, a tiara in its head, what it seemed to be a necklace with a violet diamond in it. Its purple iris stared at Max. Its wings stood straight, and its hooves are adorned with what it seems to be a decorated gold horseshoe. It has a long white horn, and its flank bears a mark. It was the Sun.

Max thought, _"Princess Celestia!" _as he was crushed underneath the big scaly palm.

"_No…no…."_Princess Celestia cried as she looked at the death of the unknown victim. She can't accept the fact that she saw somepony…or someone die innocently…

"Don't cry. My apologies for putting you in a state of worry and grief." Max said as he reached out a handkerchief while sitting in the grassy ground. Princess Celestia unconsciously took the handkerchief and started wiping her tears, saying "Thanks." Then, she realized something funny was going on.

"!"

Princess Celestia looked at her right side. The creature…of what she thought…was alive and well. She observed his eyes…what it seemed to be red, with a faint concentric circle, seasoned with three comma-looking marks on it. It has a black dot on the middle, and it was staring at the dragon she encountered.

Princess Celestia was at loss for words. She managed to say a few nonetheless, but it the tone of amazement and nervousness mixed well on her question.

"H-how…d-did…y-you…" she said with a big jaw drop on her mouth.

"That was a **crow clone**, my dear princess." He replied while looking at the scene. As soon as the dragon lifted its hand, the clone of Max lay on the ground. After a second, it dispersed into a flock of crows, returning to him and hiding inside his robe.

"Now, excuse me, while I handle this dragon."

"You sure you can do it?"

"I'm a defender who helps the weak. By the way, my name is Max J. Andrews. Call me Max." He said with a smile.

Celestia was shocked to see Max about his courage. She never knew anyone, or anypony that is as brave as him.

"The dragon's name is Sauron. He is said to be **fire-proof from normal fire. **Kill him for me."

_"Sauron…Lord of the Rings much?"_

Max had his eyes wide open in happiness. He said, "Normal fire, eh? We'll see about that."

Celestia was amazed by his sudden excitement. She fell back to the lines of her royal guards, armed to the teeth. She watched as Max calmly and slowly walked towards the dragon.

Max approached the dragon. He stood at a place, and then held ground.

The dragon sensed that the one standing before him was feeling nothing. He can't sense a hint of fear. The dragon proceeded to eliminate him. He gathered flammable gas in his stomach. Then, he channeled it into his throat.

Max observed. Because of his mastery over the Sharingan, he knew Sauron was aiming for the army of Pegasi and Unicorns. He watched as the dragon's underbelly bloated with gas, then at the blow of the fire, it flew to the army.

"_I'm done for."_ She thought.

Just as all hope is lost, a voice shouted: "Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu!"

A wall of water protected the army. The water source was coming from Max's shadow clone. It doused the flying flames. Then, the shadow clone stopped spitting water, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Celestia was silent, wide eyed, _"Amazing! The ability to convert energy into an element, it's quite a feat!"_

"Now, to finish this off…" Max activated his **Mangekyo Sharingan**. It was the biohazard symbol. He looked at the dragon's face.

"Amaterasu."

Sauron roared in pain as his eyes was burning with black flames. It consumed his head quickly until his body was burned without ashes. Max's left eye bled as he deactivated his Sharingan for a while. He grunted in pain but he maintained his posture. Walking away with a bleeding eye, he approached Celestia as he said "And that's…how you kill a dragon."

The whole army cheered for Max. He was immediately checked for vital signs and his eye cleaned. The lot of them helped him lead to Canterlot castle as Max looked at the moon. Then he turned to Celestia, saying "Nightmare Moon is still in the moon?"

Celestia was caught by surprise, and replied "How did you know about my sister?"

Max put on a grin. "I'll explain everything later."

She smiled. "Good. Because I have a lot of questions for you."


	3. Max's Origins

**Chapter 3**

**Warning: **The upcoming names are so tacky; you might be annoyed by this.

**Max's Origins!**

As Max walked slowly into the hallway, he saw all kinds of portraits and tainted windows. He never thought Canterlot Castle was this so beautiful. He saw different kinds of ponies: Some known, others are tycoons, and even one of the paintings show a familiar face.

He asked, "Why is there a portrait of what it seems to be a creature with many body parts?"

She replied "That's Discord. He's infamous for turning beautiful scenery into…discord."

Max continued to walk down the hallway, and there he saw a table made for two. As he sat down, Celestia poured some tea into the cups. Max remained eye contact as she drank her tea. Then, he drank the contents of the cup.

"You can start the conversation by telling to me about your background." Celestia said.

"Okay."

**FLASHBACK**

As he was 5 years old, he was in the house, playing with toys. He was stacking plastic blocks with letters on it. His mind was young, and easygoing. He didn't care if something happens in the outside world. All he cared is playing with toys, spending time with his mother, and reading kid's books. Everything seems so happy for him. One day, as he was walking in the living room, he heard a noise. It seems that his father is shouting some words, and then he blew something, like burning. Max, out of curiosity, searched for his dad, like a dog sniffing out footsteps left behind. He heard the source of the noise, and he heard that it was coming from the backyard. He opened the sliding door, and a fire before him flashed wildly. Max immediately shut his eyes to shield it from the bright light. Then, his dad saw Max.

"What is that, daddy?"

"It's called ninjutsu."

"Neen-jootsoo?" He said with a slightly sad tone.

"It's the art of molding charka into a material. For example, my Fireball Jutsu."

"Chalk-rah?"

Max sat down and thought about the words for a while. Takehiko, his father, knew he was too young for his son to understand all of this. Not only it's complicated, but dangerous as well.

"I don't understand what you mean, dad. First, what is chalk-ra? Second, what is a Fireball Jutsu?" he said as Max looked directly at his father, with sad eyes.

"You'll understand in due time, son. I'll turn you into a splendid ninja." He gave Max a pat on the head.

"Neen-jah?" Takehiko chuckled.

* * *

"Time went by." Max said as he poured tea, then he swirls it in the cup. "For 4 years, life became unbearable for me. They treated and saw me as a curse to everybody."

* * *

**Flashback**

Max was against a tree in the middle of the campus, held by a hand, raising him up. A high school boy, named Kanou Sotarou, stared at him.

"Give me your money!"

"Why don't you take it?" he struggled to speak as his collar started choking him.

"I can't open it! It's stuck!" he said as he dropped his body to the ground and threw the wallet to him. The wallet was covered with tags that looked like it has a set of characters on it. Max tried to scratch off the tags, but it just won't give in.

"I'll give you three counts." Kanou threatened as he pointed a metal baseball bat at him, his glasses shining through the shadows the leaves created.

Max gasped. He knew that it was painful to receive the blow, and if he gets hurt, his father will think that he provoked a fight. He hurriedly attempted to scratch those tags. He wondered where did those tags appeared. Still, the tags won't go off.

"One…"

Max sped up his scratching. Sweat dropped from his head to the ground, desperately peeling off the tags.

"Three!"

A loud bonk was heard from the campus. Max was knocked out unconscious by the impact. He fell down to the ground, dropping his wallet. No one helped him, for the students knew anyone who opposes **his** gang will be beaten up real good. Then, someone appeared from behind. He was wearing a flak jacket tainted in olive color. It has six small containers for something, three for each side. The man also wore pants matching the jacket's color. He also has fingerless gloves, and a headband with a symbol of what it seems to be a leaf.

"If you want to fight, do it to someone of abilities that equals yours!" He said with an angry tone.

Kanou replied "Oh, so you must be his dad. Fashion hippie!"

His joke made his gang laugh and the other students laughed too. Takehiko laughed too, seeing himself as a fashion hippie to the **uneducated**. Then, he replied with a calm voice.

"Coming from someone who wears glasses and a green jacket."

The students gasped. No one dared teased Kanou before, as they are left behind either knocked out or half-dead. Kanou flushed with anger. He was never been angry in his life. It was his first time, and he grabbed the baseball bat.

"Don't you ever…underestimate me!" He ran to Takehiko. He swung the bat to his chest, but the bat seemed it passed through. He realized he was no longer in the spot he was in. He vanished into thin air. Then, he received a roundhouse in the left temple, hitting the hard, cold ground.

"That's for hitting my son in the head."

One of Kanou's friends charged at Takehiko full speed. Another one charged behind him. He waited for them to be close enough to him. He took a small step back, grabbing one by the left arm overhand, the other underhand. He twisted to the left and letting go of them, sending the pair flying into a direction. They crashed into a wall, knocking them out. The students ran off in fright, leaving three to fight Takehiko, but they tried and failed. Takehiko reported them to the principal. The principal was so angry, he kicked the boys out from the school. He gave a speech about the incident, and then he said he was so ashamed of his students and teachers. This made a blind hate on Max, turning him into an object of hatred.

* * *

"Wow, that was so sad. Even I can't take that pressure." Celestia said as tears ran down from her eyes, wiping them with a white cloth. "But those bullies, I want to banish them to the moon!" She said with anger.

"But that's the time I need to learn **something.** I need to learn how to protect myself."


	4. Max's Origins, Continued!

**Chapter 4**

**Max's Origins, Continued!**

**Note: **Sorry, but a medium update was made in Chapter 1 and a minor one was in Chapter 3. I suggest reading the part where Max left off for the portal and the sentences where it is encased in two lines in Chapter 3.

**Flashback  
**

It was winter season, and the ground was iced with snow. Leaves are absent on the trees, as the cold wind blows in every house. The sky was filled with white snow, with fumes the burning wood creates emanates from the chimneys. A lot of kids outside were playing with snowballs, throwing one after another. The parents, however, kept shoveling out snow from the backyard. It was a perfect day for playing, but Max had something in mind. He came running in the big house, to the backyard door, and opened it abruptly. He saw his father arranging dummies made from straw, and others from wood. It seems like he was going to train again by himself.

"Father, teach me ninjutsu!" he said.

"No, son, it's dangerous." Takehiko replied.

"But father—"he replied back, but was cut short because his father snapped back.

"Son, it's dangerous. Not only dangerous, but complicated as well. You might not even graduate from the academy."

Many thoughts were running in Max's mind. His father was right. He was too young to learn ninjutsu, despite his will. He needs to think of a reason why his dad will train him.

"No matter what, I'll learn ninjutsu!" he shouted.

Takehiko gave a secret, small smile. He knew that anyone can learn ninjutsu, when you learn it all by your heart. He sensed that the boy is rather adamant about being teached by ninjutsu, despite Takehiko's false replies.

Finally, he dropped his lies. "Alright, I'll teach you ninjutsu and other stuff as well, but…you need to give me a good reason."

Max said, "I need to learn it because I can no longer stand those people who want to hurt me. They got the wrong kid; it's obviously them who didn't help me in the first place!" Then, tears ran down in his eyes. Takehiko felt the pain he was in. He can't help but gave a sad face.

Max continued. "I need to learn how to protect myself! That's the one and only solution to my problem!"

Takehiko's face turned from sadness to happiness. He knew all along that Max needs to learn ninjutsu, but he needs to reason out correctly to see his goal and only goal.

"Very well. But first, wear clothes. It's bloody cold outside." He said as he went out to get something.

Max dashed into the closet. He wore his jacket, which is pale white. He wore a scarf, with checkered black and orange. He grabbed his earmuff, and returned to the backyard. Takehiko was seen holding a scabbard and a small bag. The latter looked heavy, with mini-spikes bulging out from the thick cloth. The former was a short one, as long as half of Max's height.

Takehiko saw Max, and he dropped the objects occupying his hand.

"Alright, let's start training."

Hours went by. It became a day, and then days turned into a week. Takehiko demonstrated exactly the way he was taught. He was trained to throw various kinds of shurikens, including the Fuma shuriken. Max was also taught to use his mini-katana. The length fits perfectly on him, he was like a mini-samurai. Takehiko also introduced explosive tags, and how to place and detonate one. Takehiko knows he needed the training to speed up. He was still slow in his movements, and Takehiko's goal is to teach him the basics of taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu in three months. He thought of an idea.

"I'll kill you for real!" he said as he rushed to Max, with a katana in hand.

Max saw and thought his dad was serious. He was scared, and never been in his life. He was thinking of a way out of the situation while he braced himself for the incoming attack, gripping tightly on the hilt. He aligned his katana in his mouth, the tip of the blade facing his left. He gazed on his dad, with fear rushing from his feet up to his head. Somehow, he felt unusual in his eyes. It was like **something **was rushing in it, but he can't say how that something felt. He closed his eyes, then shook his head, then opened again. The feeling was still there. Suddenly, he understood his movements. The katana swung to Max. A loud ding was heard. Takehiko looked, and he saw that Max was able to block his katana. He was shocked, at the same time, happy. His son made an amazing leap of improvement. But **something** was in his eyes. Its sclera was red. It has a black, shrunk pupil, with a ring that contains a symbol that looked like a comma. Takehiko retracted.

"_He can use the __**Sharingan!**__ Then that means, my wife…is an __**UCHIHA!"**_ The look of confidence in Takehiko's eyes turned into fear. He knew that Sharingan wielders are dangerous and skilled, and the Sharingan belongs to the Uchiha clan, a clan known for their powerful chakra. He realized that his wife, Michelle Andrews, was a new name to protect her identity. Out of curiosity, he performed the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu and sent the fireball flying towards Max.

The fireball went towards Max, melting off the snow before it went over it. Max jumped quickly to the roof of the house, panting heavily. He knew he had no other option in that moment. Closing his eyes, he recalled what he saw.

**Flashback's flashback**

As he stood, he looked closely at his father. He saw that the hands formed a certain shape, and when his father blew fire, he saw that the fire's interior was blue.

* * *

Back again to reality, he thought, _"What is that blue thing? Is it what he told me as chakra? And what is he doing with his hands? Better try it…"_

He slowly made five hand seals, which are Tiger, then Monkey, then Boar, then Horse, then Tiger. When he turned around and saw his father, he put his hand into his mouth, forming it like a pipe. He blew, and he felt chakra rush from his stomach to his throat, then to his mouth. But one thing he noticed about the fire is that it didn't turn into a ball. Instead, he blew it continuously. Takehiko managed to avoid being singed by the fire.

"_What! But it consumes too much chakra! An 11-year old ninja cannot perform this technique, let alone Max, who is 6 years old!"_

Takehiko stopped fighting and sheathed his katana. "You're good. I think you're ready to use ninjutsu."

As soon as Max heard this, he had a feeling of something waited for so long was achieved. He put on his biggest smile, and he jumped for joy as he shouted "Yahoo!"

The next few weeks, Takehiko taught him the Substitution, Transformation, and Clone Jutsu. Max used his newly-discovered Sharingan, and it became easier to perform the techniques.

One and a half month was left for Max to train. Takehiko said, "Max, devote all the time remaining in summer for your training. Become fast with your movements, and learn techniques from this." as he gave a green book to his son. It was named "Basic and Advanced Jutsus for Beginners and Pros". It was written by his dad, and he realized that the jutsus are listed from rank E to Rank S.

"I will, dad." He said.

Later, in the freezing midnight hour, while Max is asleep, Takehiko and Michelle sat in a table. Takehiko asked her why she hid her identity. Max suddenly woke up, and overheard about his mother's real name.

"My real name is Misaki Uchiha. I was born in Konoha, 5 years before the **massacre**. The only thing that I remembered back then was:"

**Flashback's Flashback**

As a figure walked up to them, Misaki's parents stood up to the unknown man.

"Don't kill us!" The father said.

"Why are you doing this?" the mother said.

The figure replied, "I'll tell you why I massacred my whole clan."

The couple learned that their clansmen have been killing their own to gain power. They also learned that the clan is preparing to take over Konoha.

"How…rude! I should have known this!" the father angrily replied.

"They kill our own kind to gain power! This is madness!" the mother shouted.

"That does it! I'm not going to be a ninja anymore!" Misaki replied.

"But Misaki…" the mother calmed and toned down her words.

"Excellent decision, little girl. Let the child choose her own path." The mysterious man replied.

"Thanks!" Misaki replied cheerfully. "By the way, what's your name, mister? So that I'll never forget about what you said to me."

"My name…is **Itachi Uchiha**."

Takehiko thought for a while. _"Itachi Uchiha, the clan's pride. Known as a prodigy; became the chief __**ANBU **__by the age of thirteen. Thinking about him makes me shiver in fear."_

"Oh, I almost forgot, I need to talk about Max. He may have many abilities, but he has a lot of handicaps. Number one, he lacks common sense."

As Max created an exploding shadow clone with success and perfection, he said to the clone "Oh yeah! High-five!"

The clone and Max did a resounding slap to both of their hands. But both of them realized it was a huge mistake.

They said in chorus, "Oh sh-"

Before he knew it, he was already knocked out from the explosion.

"Number two. He rarely fears anything, or anyone, but once he loses his presence of mind, things go from bad to worse."

A fire was inside the house. Max grabbed the fire extinguisher and started to smother the flames. After a few seconds, the fire extinguisher ran out of foam. But the fire kept consuming the wooden wall.

"Okay, let's try using water." He grabbed the hose, and sprayed on the growing fire. Ironically, it grew larger.

"Ohshetohshetohshetohshetohsh etohshet" he said as he soaked a blanket with a liquid. He threw the blanket, but the blanket ignited in flames.

"HOLY-…AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" He went running outside the house, screaming like a girl. His father came in, unrolled a scroll, and a vapor sucked all the flames in.

"Number three. Time to time, curiosity gets the better of him."

In a lab, he saw his brother, the eldest sibling, Gant Andrews, work in a chemistry lab. He saw that he went into a cupboard, leaving two test tubes: one containing a blue smoking liquid, the other, red, steaming liquid. Max grabbed the latter, and poured it on the former.

"I wonder what happens if you do this…"

"No! Don't-"

Before Gant could stop him, it was too late. The chemicals reacted, creating a black mushroom cloud that covered the two.

Gant sighed, "Now at least we know what it does."

"Number four. He's not afraid of ghosts, but screams in horror games."

"Number five. He does not take a battle seriously."

"Let's skip the stories okay?" Michelle suggested.

"Number six. He mastered the Sharingan at an extremely young age. He said he no longer uses up chakra when he keeps it up."

"Number seven. I talked to the Third Hokage and he said he read a prophecy; a man in a generation will be gifted with extraordinary abilities. The one Hiruzen talks about had an indefinite chakra, gained by unknown means, and his body regenerates and regrows faster than anyone can. That one must be my son, as I've seen him use shadow clones repeatedly, yet he keeps creating more. I also saw a large cut from his leg, when I rushed to the first aid kit to get sterile gauze to stop the bleeding, Max said that his wound healed back itself. He was scared to death when I saw him."

"So…are you gonna send him into the Academy this coming summer?"

"Certainly." He smiled.

Max smiled, and went off to bed. The next morning, he was ready for school. He picked up his bag, and rode on the school bus. He activated his Sharingan. It has already three tomoe seals, indicating a fully matured Sharingan. He saw that one foot will stretch out soon. He deactivated it quickly, and he avoided the foot at the right time, missing it completely. The bully was outsmarted by Max, and he was passionate to surpass Max.

On one occasion, the bully in the bus earlier, named Ron, threw a piece of crumpled paper to Max. Max reached out to get his notebook, missing the crumpled ball. It hit one bully, as he turned around and faced at Ron, he gave a glare.

"_Being a ninja is fun!" _Max thought.

In dodge ball, Ron and his group were hitting the opposing group in the middle. All of them are hit except Max. He activated his Sharingan. He easily dodged the balls. Heck, his classmates are even amazed how they can't see Max moving. It looks like he flickers in existence.

Many years have passed, and slowly, he became accepted by many, if not all of the students in Seika Middle School. He eventually gained respect, and everything went better than expected.

* * *

Max, looking at his watch, its arms glowing from luminescence, says that it's already 10:40. He flinched.

"Oh, sorry, Your Majesty for being so detailed about my flashback. But thank you for your time."

"Oh, it's nothing. Although, I have one question in mind. Where are your parents?"

"Oh, they passed away. Leaving my parents were the hardest times in my life."

"Same here, except that my parents passed away 2000 years ago. I suffer the same fate as yours."

"No, I suffer more than you do. Did you witness your parents die in front of your eyes? Because I did."

Celestia was shocked so greatly, it left her speechless. He was right. He watched his loved ones die before him, but Celestia only saw her parents vanish in the blink of an eye.

"Also, how did you know me?"

"Well, in my world, you are in a show. I know, it sounds weird but it's true."

His personal wooden clone pointed at a dropped scroll on the floor. It was wide open, with a symbol on the scroll. "Hey, Max. You dropped your summoning scroll."

Max reached out to grab the scroll, but he touched the middle part, causing a puff of smoke to pop in the hand. It summoned Naruto.

"Heuh…what am I doing in here!" he panicked.

"Easy, easy Naruto! I just accidentally summoned you. In fact, this is another world. Equestria!"

"Oh noooooooo!" Naruto screamed.

"Oh, forgive my friend. He's one hyperactive knucklehead."

"It's all your fault! Why did you have a summoning scroll for me?!"

"To summon assistance?" he answered jokingly.

Celestia said, "Max, I'll entrust you with a job. Keep an eye for my faithful student named Twilight Sparkle."

"Oh, the mare who studies in breaks? What a geek, no offense." he said.

"None taken."

Naruto went wide-eyed. He whispered to Max, "Max, are they summons? They talk, but they are horses!"

Max snapped. "One: We've seen and heard talking frogs. Two: This is another world. Three: How about a nice big cup of shut the fahk up?" as he handed Naruto a white cup, with the letters "STFU" imprinted on it. Naruto drank the contents of the cup, which was pure, unsweetened lemon juice.

Celestia said, "You three can sleep in a room for Luna."

At midnight, Max was sitting on the apex of the castle, staring at the moon as it shone over Equestria, making a silvery shine over the place, as he looks at the craters in the surface. It was shaped like a unicorn's head. His wood clone and Naruto were sleeping in one bed, snoring quite loudly. Celestia flew beside Max, joining him in observing the bright night light in the sky.

"Four days from now, Nightmare Moon will be released-"Celestia said, but was cut off by Max.

"-from her thousand-year prison by four stars that aids her escape, I know. But in the show, you didn't hire anybody, or anypony to guard Twilight. Why did you hire me? I'm not saying that I am refusing the request, but do you have doubts that Twilight can handle all the Elements of Harmony whilst she keeps herself from Nightmare Moon's destructive and dangerous power?"

Celestia admitted. "Yes. I need somepony…er someone, er some…" Celestia paused. "People." Max said. "…who can guide and protect her. Just say you're an old friend of Princess Celestia, and act goofy, weak and helpless to cover your identity. Say you're there to attend the Grand Summer Sun Celebration. Make sure you also provide identity cover for your clone, and your friend. I'll alert the townsponies. Recently, a being called 'Nightmare' made the darkness in Luna's heart grow larger to the point she became evil."

"It's a bad idea and I wouldn't do it if I were you." Max warned.

"Why the hay not?"

"I like to do things with style and precision; few people know what's happening, and the rest, have no idea what's gonna pop out from the box. Just don't ruin the ponies' momentum; keep them relaxed so no panicking when I face **her**. In that way, we kill three birds in one electrical wire…if you know what is it."

"You have my trust." Celestia said as she flew into her room, and Max doing the same, sleeping in the large bed made for Luna. Max can't help but think and plan thoroughly about the fight that's going to happen four days from now.

* * *

Whoo! This was so far the longest chapter I've typed. Going over 3000 words! *Crushes scouter* Time to time I'm gonna create filler chapters. I'm going to put my OC, his clone; partner in crime, and his old pal Naruto!


	5. Meet The Sparkle!

**Chapter 4**

**Mare in the Moon, Part 1, Part 1**

"Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters that ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the Sun at dawn. The younger, brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects; all of different types of ponies.

But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day the elder sister brought forth but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One night, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness; Nightmare Moon.

She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponykind: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently on the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both Sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since."

Max said as he sits on the apex of an **ivory tower**, along with his wooden clone, and his partner in crime, Naruto, watching them afar with binoculars, stating to him what was the purple pony saying by looking at her lip movements using the Sharingan. Naruto understood quickly, while using the binoculars, eyes fixed on Twilight.

"Looks like she prefers to value knowledge other than friends…what a jerk!" he shouted.

"I know that feel, bro, but you should tone your voice down. Blowing cover is not an option." The wood clone replied.

"Yeah, but someone…er somepony, is just a stupid one! Kinda reminds me of Gaara, minus the grudge." Naruto reasoned out.

"I gotta admit that. Hmm…she says that she heard about the EoH." The clone read.

"Anyway, let's track her down and see where she will go." Naruto said, focusing back on the mission.

"Hey, Max? Is this an S-rank mission?" the clone asked.

"Yes, DJ, my messenger clone. Since nopony has the skill, or magic to defeat Nightmare Moon, Celestia considers this as one." Max said.

"Oh, boy! I can't wait to defeat Nightmare Moon!" Naruto said with happiness. But using logic, Naruto thought and said, "Why defeating Nightmare Moon is so hard?"

"I heard that it took a pretty good time for Celestia to aim and use the EoH along with her magic power to defeat Nightmare Moon. An alicorn alone found it hard to defeat and banish at the same time, let alone unicorns." Max said as he kept his pair of binoculars underneath his cloak.

"Well, it's high time to be using the Transformation Jutsu again. Go for it, guys." Max said.

All three made the Ram seal, and in chorus, they shouted, "TRANSFORMATION JUTSU!" and in a puff of smoke engulfed the three, shaping them into a pony. Max had a gray coat, with black, spiky hair, and a black tail. He also had the Akatsuki cloak, with a slightly different shape suited for ponies. Same goes for his clone. Naruto has blond hair, with the Konoha headband still in his forehead. He has a light yellow coat, with a jacket, and a fox-shaped blond tail.

"Let's head out!" Max said as the three disappeared from sight.

XXXXXXXXXXX

As Twilight walks down the road, three ponies were standing in her way. One in the left possesses a mane, blue streak and bluish gray mane that looked like toothpaste, blue eyes, with an hourglass for a cutie mark. The right one had her mane and tail curled up, Mayan blue tinted, a yellow coat, and purple eyes, with two blue hearts, one green heart for a cutie mark. The middle one has bluish white eyes, white coat, and even curlier pink mane and tail, with three stars for a cutie mark.. Each of them carries a gift in their back.

"There you are, Twilight!" the yellow pony said.

"Moon dancer is having a little get-together in the west Castle Courtyard. You wanna come?" the white one asked. The three leaned forward to Twilight, causing her to lean in the opposite direction.

Coming up with an alibi, she said "Oh, sorry girls, I got a lot of studying to catch up on." Twilight grinned, and then dashed away.

The white one sighed in disappointment. "Does that pony do ANYTHING except study?"

"I think, she's more interested in books than friends." She finished off as they continued down the white road.

Twilight kept running, wind blowing against her. "I know I've heard about the Elements of Harmony."

As she ran past two ponies, one has a green mane, tail and coat, with a lyre for a cutie mark, the other, lavender coat and a violet mane, with three diamonds for a cutie mark, the former waved a hoof at her. Twilight kept running as if she didn't notice her. Twilight ran into a flight of stairs winding up to an ivory tower.

Spike was delivering a red gift tied with a yellow ribbon, walking towards two swinging doors. Without visual warning, Twilight opened both, the force of one hit a dragon with purple scales, a pale white underbelly, with a green crest. The poor baby dragon was sent flying inwards with the gift he was carrying.

"Spike? Spiiiike?" Twilight called out.

Twilight looked on the floor, staring at him, all dizzy. "Spike? There you are."

Spike recovered from the dizziness, as Twilight ran into a floor. The eye-catching pair of towering shelves was in the left and the right. The left one had a ladder. An hourglass was in the far middle of the floor. A gigantic telescope was poking out on the very ceiling of the building.

Looking at the shelves, she said, "Quick, find me that old copy of predictions and prophecies." As she stared at Spike, she said "What is that?", pointing out a hoof on his tail. The gift was impaled by the tail stub, piercing through it.

Spike took it out of his tail. "Well, it was a gift from Moon Dancer, but-" A stuff bear fell out, worn out from the damage, fell down from the box, making a soft but audible squeak.

Twilight, knocking off books one by one in a pile, said: "Oh, Spike. You know we don't have time for that sort of thing."

Spike reasoned out. "But, we're on a break!"

Twilight searched for the book. She pulled out one by one, but nothing among them was the one being searched. Spike managed to find the book. As Twilight looked at the book, she dropped all the books she was previously levitating, leaving Spike to clean up the mess.

"Elements, elements…E, E, E, ah-hah…The Elements of Harmony. See "Mare in the Moon?"" Twilight muttered to herself. But something was feeling strange. She had a shaking feeling that she was being watched from above. She can't tell where it is. She looked thoroughly at the shadows above the shelves. Her gaze went to the boxes, then statues, then boxes again.

"_Wait…are those…statues?"_

Suddenly, the three statues were seen atop of the shelves. They suddenly disappeared. Then, a voice popped out from the corner of the shelves.

"Greetings, Twilight Sparkle. The Princess' faithful student, I suppose?"

Max made an entrance, walking slowly towards her. His intimidating clothes gave Twilight the wrong message that says _"I'm dangerous"_.

Twilight screamed. "An intruder!" Her purple horn started to glow, aiming at Max, and a purple beam shone which it hit him. It sent him rolling on the floor, wincing. Twilight saw another pony, with an appearance identical to the recently shot pony. She fired at the clone, making the clone flinch and dropped down in pain. Another one dashed towards the two, and Twilight fired another shot, which sent the third one drop.

Twilight blew her horn, as if it was hot and smoking, and then approached the three, unconscious. Twilight smiled.

"I mastered attack spells at 100% accuracy and effectiveness. It's somewhat powerful, you know. Now you'll have to wait five hours before you can wake up." She said. But something caught her eye. A puff of smoke exploded at the pony pile, and then the smoke cleared up. What it seemed to be impossible for her…was proven wrong when she saw three logs of wood that has a word engraved in each of it. " " was carved in each of the trunk part.

"Those…were just logs!" Fear got the better of Twilight. She started to walk backwards a little bit, looking around rapidly for telltale signs of pony presence. Suddenly, a blade was aligned at her neck, while a hoof was wrapped behind her. Twilight didn't move. She was too afraid to because they were too fast for the naked eye. Two ponies appeared in front of her, tying up the three logs. Spike put the bundle aside.

"Who are you, ponies? Identify yourself! What do you want from me?"

"Relax, we don't want anything from you. I'm Max J. Andrews, by the way." He replied.

"I'm DJ, his partner in crime!" DJ said.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto yelled.

"Then why are you pointing a blade at me? You fool!" she said.

Max let go of his grip on Twilight. "I'm sorry, but who's the fool here? I only greeted you warmly, and you made a foolish move by shooting me with the Knock-Out Beam, attack spell #30, Type 2 Level 4."

Twilight was shocked to hear that Max knows spells by the back of his hoof. Not only that, he was intelligent. But, that didn't stop her from snapping at him again.

"And yet, you responded foolishly, instead of a smart one, by holding an innocent pony hostage. You're a fool, too!"

"I'm sorry, but a foolish move deserves a foolish response. That's one of my rules." he calmly replied.

Twilight was at loss for words. She never had been this so lost. She got the message _'Your argument is invalid, so shut up.'_. She automatically knew that she lost, so she calmed her voice.

"What is your business here?" she interrogated.

Spike replied. "These ponies, are your bodyguards, hired three days ago, since Monday."

Twilight went wide-eyed. "Since WHAT!"

"I have conclusive evidence that I was sent here by Princess Celestia." Max bit a badge from his pocket, then dropped it, kicked it before it fell to the ground towards her. Twilight looked down and saw the platinum badge. It was the Sun, with wings.

Twilight bowed down before the three. "Forgive me for my rudeness I showed earlier."

"Apology accepeted." He replied.

But as Max finished, he suddenly collapsed. Naruto and DJ also collapsed. Twilight rushed over them. She kept shaking Max wildly.

"Wake up! You are my bodyguards! You can't die yet!"


	6. Meet The Other Five!

**Chapter 6**

**Meet The Other Five!**

**Note: **I'll release chapters when I have the time.

Max woke up. He scratched his head with his hoof, as if he was hit by a train or something. But thinking again, you can't survive a bottle blow in the head, let alone a train. He looked at the ground, seeing the platinum badge shine in his eyes.

"Where…am I?" Max said.

"YOU DON'T HAVE THE FAINTEST IDEA WHAT HAPPENED!?" Twilight shouted in disbelief. Naruto and DJ woke up, not remembering anything, asking the same question Max did.

"I guess I was being controlled, or something." Max said.

"Phew. I thought I have no bodyguards." Twilight said.

"Wait…are we…? We are just here to come along with you for the Grand Summer Sun Celebration today. We are old friends of Princess Celestia." Max said.

Twilight was confused. _"Spike said they were my bodyguards...and now, they seem to be old friends of Princess Celestia, with clothing beyond of Equestrian style? Maybe she controls them when I'm in danger…how kind of her."_ She then smiled.

"Um…Miss Twilight…what's the matter?" Max said.

"Ah, nothing! Nothing…" Twilight quickly replied.

XXXXXXXXXX

Two Pegasi Royal Guards stand outside the tower from below. They were carrying a golden chariot adorned with beautiful gold. Twilight was going to the chariot, but she remembered someponies were missing.

"Do you wanna come?" Twilight asked.

"Don't worry. We'll meet you there." Max said.

"Rest assure that meet me there in Ponyville!" Twilight waved.

As the golden chariot flew off, Max went gazing at her. When they were out of sight, Max snapped into action. He jumped to the higher shelf, looking at the last book read. As he read the title of the book, he gave a small grin.

"Looks like the cat got out of the bag a bit…as planned." Max said.

"Naruto, that was awesome acting! You kept yourself on low profile." DJ commented, making Naruto grin and put a hoof on the back of his head, scratching it.

"Gee, thanks!"

Max jumped down to the floor. He picked up the badge that he threw beside Twilight earlier.

"Actually, this badge does nothing at all. It shows you are a friend of the Princess. They will see us as normal ponies. But, we're gonna make them believe this badge activates and controls us when Twilight is in danger…for the meantime." Max revealed.

"But…why are we not allowed to use offensive ninjutsu? I'm itching to try my Rasengan on the evil witch!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Well, first of all, we can't do much in this form; not even anything but to focus chakra on our hooves to walk on water and produce shadow clones. Second, we need to form hands by controlling every muscle fiber from our tails and shaping them. And before we can do that, I need to dispel my form and send electrical waves in each strand of my tail to learn and teach it to you. And before we even do that, we need to find a place hidden from plain sight. Something…spacious and sunny with a source of water. Three, we'll undo our disguise at the right time…about three weeks after." Max reasoned out.

"But for now, grab my hoof. Let's teleport!" He said with passion as he reached out two. The two followed. DJ grabbed Max's hoof with two, and the other one was grabbed in the same fashion by Naruto. Max started spinning wildly, and a few seconds later, a blue energy dome formed from Max, and it grew wider, enough to accommodate the three. The dome of energy gobbled up the three ponies, disappearing into thin air, leaving a tiny tornado spinning, and then faded away.

A blue energy dome grew from one spot, somewhere kilometers away from Ponyville, spat out the three. DJ and Naruto let go of Max's hoof, sending them away rolling. Max was exhausted, and sat down panting. He looked at the houses, as DJ and Naruto joined in the sitting.

"Remind me to never do that again." Max said. "I'm still working on the Teleportation Jutsu. The one earlier was totally different."

Naruto sighed in awe as he looked at the town. "So this is Ponyville. So…big, it's like Konoha…only larger."

"Yeah. I know, right? Now we need to-" Max was cut off. DJ stared at the clouds with a Sharingan, looking at an object flying in mid-air a mile away.

"-move fast. It's Twilight and company. They're heading towards Ponyville. Let's go before they get there. We need to make ourselves familiar with the place." DJ said as the three vanished into thin air with a puff of smoke.

XXXXXXXXXX

Twilight was looking out on the clouds. She was bored, so she counted the clouds passing at every second. But this annoyed her, and made her bored even more.

"I wonder where those three are. The two looked like twins, and one looked like a freak. They are the Princess' old friends. They look like they are her personal bodyguards. They still look like colts, nonetheless their bodies are too strong for a normal one. The two cutie marks look okay, but the yellow one had a mysterious cutie mark. I never saw anything like it. Max had a bandana with a symbol on the plating. It covers his left eye. I wonder what is he hiding behind it?" Twilight said.

"Maybe, they're just new…or are they really EVIL!" Spike shivered. Twilight gave a glare. "Ok…maybe not. And don't forget to make some friends!"

Twilight groaned, annoyed. "Do I have to repeat myself? I am her student and I'll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends."

As Twilight descended down to the plaza, a **familiar voice** was heard. "Hi!"

Twilight was shocked, jaw-dropped to see the three already made past through them. She kept moving her head from left to right, making sure this was not an illusion. She reluctantly asked.

"H-how d-did…y-you…g-g-g-g-get h-here? Y-you're…s-s-so…f-f-fast!"

"Of course we traveled! The Law of Inertia stated that no object could move unless a said force is applied on it. We moved, so we got here."

"But that's scientifically impossible! It's too fast to travel by hoof!" Twilight protested.

"Coming from somepony who uses magic." Max made an awesome comeback.

"You use magic, too!" Twilight said.

"Oh, we can use magic? Enlighten me how do we do that with no unicorn horns." he condescended.

Twilight didn't say anything. He was right. They have no magic. But then, Spike sighted a **pink pony**. It had balloons for a cutie mark, has a fluffy mane and tail. It was walking towards them, and then stopped. Twilight turned around.

Spike said to Twilight, "Come on! Just try!"

"Um…hi?" Twilight greeted.

The pink pony gasped in horror, afloat in mid-air, then zips out from them.

"Well, that was interesting alright." Twilight said with sarcasm.

"How…did she do that? She just…sprang to the air and was floating…wha-?" Naruto asked.

Max chuckled. "Let's eat, Naruto. Get yourself in good condition before you do what the Princess tells you to do. Looks like from earlier, you ate pickled tapioca."

DJ barraged himself with logic and questions. _"HOW THE FAHK DOES TAPIOCA IS PICKLED! AND HOW DOES IT TASTE LIKE!I maybe just the repeating messenger clone of a repeating substitute clone of Max, but my master is way too weird. Did he smoke weed earlier?"_

"So, we'll go to Sweet Apple Acres. Anypony point out where-" Twilight said, but was cut off by Max.

"Sweet Apple Acres is located there." as he pointed out a hoof to one direction.

"Alright, let's waste no time." Twilight hurried.

**Meanwhile, at the SAAP…**

As they walk on the farm, a breathtaking sight was seen. A large barn was seen in the middle. It had a maroon painting on the body, and its roofs were violet. Behind the barn was a vast field of apple trees, stretching out acres away. Naruto jaw-dropped in awe.

"_I would really hate to be the owner of this field. Whoever keeps maintenance here sure is a hardworking pony."_

Then, suddenly, a voice was heard. "Yeehaw!"

An orange pony, wearing a hat, has a pale yellow tail, with apples for a cutie mark, was seen when she charged towards a tree. The pony twisted to kick the trunk, making the apples fall right into the four wooden pails resting under the tree. With a sense of pride in her work, she crossed her leg.

Twilight sighed in frustration. "Let's get this over with... Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle-"

The pony suddenly appeared in front of Twilight. She rapidly shook the unicorn's hoof.

She said, "Well, howdy-doo, Miss Twilight, a pleasure makin' your acquaintance. I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like making new friends!"

It was impossible for Twilight to resist the force, making her voice vibrate. "Friends? Actually, I-"

"So, what can I do you for?" She gave a wink. Twilight kept shaking from the force of Applejack's hoofshake. Spike stopped Twilight's constant wiggle.

"Yo, Twilight, if you kept shaking like that, you're gonna have a wicked headache!" Max said as Spike snickered after.

Max then spoke to Applejack with a sweet, Texan accent. "Hey, pardner! Name's Max. How's life a-doin'?"

Applejack made sure he was not joking by answering back. "Pardon me, but ah think you tryin' to mock me."

Max replied. "Nope. Just makin' sure we speak the same tongue. Don't wanna have embarrassment. Havin' a good talk doesn't hurt ah tiny bit, y'know."

"Ah, I'm sorry pardner." Applejack apologized.

"Well, don't that beat all. Why don't we get along with it?"

Twilight broke up the conversation by clearing her throat. "Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you're in charge of the food?"

Applejack replied. "We sure as sugar are! Would you care to sample some?"

Twilight said, "Well, as long as it doesn't take too long…"

A triangle was rattling in the distance. Applejack shouted. "Soup's on, everypony!"

Twilight and Spike was on a wooden bench before they realize it. She was introduced to each member of the family, with each kind of food they serve. After the long introduction, she spits the apple shoved up to her mouth earlier.

"Okay, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way." Twilight gave a nervous laugh.

But one small pony, with puppy eyes, and a red mane tied with a red bow, and a red tail, looked at Twilight. "Aren't you gonna stay for brunch?"

Twilight reluctantly replied. "Sorry, but we have an awful lot to do…"

Everypony sighed in disappointment. "Twilight! Ruining a good time! If I were you, I would stay here for brunch. You sure do have a natural talent for being a spoilsport! That does it! I'm gonna stay here because I don't want to ruin anything!" Max replied.

"Same here." Naruto and DJ chorused.

Twilight doesn't have any friends, but being a disappointment is not acceptable in her book. She looked around each ponies' faces, and she gave in to the crowd.

"Fine." She said with frustration.

"YEAAAAAHHHH!" Everypony shouted.

XXXXXXXXXX

As the five walked down the path, Spike was using the feather pen to check a box on the list.

"Food's all taken care of, next is weather."

"Ugh…I ate too much pie…" Twilight said with a low voice.

"I know that feel, Twi." Max commented.

Spike searched the sky. "Hmm, there's supposed to be a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds."

"She's not doing a good job, is she?" Twilight joined to search her. Suddenly, something hit Twilight, It sent the two crashing and rolling in the mud. Twilight gave a short groan. A pony with a cyan coat, with different colors on her mane and tail stood up. "Uh, 'scuse me?"

"Nnnn." Twilight groaned.

"Lemme help you." Rainbow Dashed sheepishly laughed as she flew away. She returned clean of mud, with a mildly dark cloud, positioning it over Twilight. She got on top, bouncing on and off from the cloud, making it rain rapidly on Twilight. The mud was washed, but it left Twilight with wet, drooping hair.

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Oops, I guess I overdid it. Um, uh, how about this? My very own patented Rain-Blow Dry! No no, don't thank me, you're quite welcome." She spun around Twilight, making a mini-rainbow tornado that dried up the water from the ground. She descended, too busy to look at her. When she realized what happened to Twilight, Rainbow Dash fell over, bursting out laughing. Spike joined the laughing, falling over RD's back. Twilight's mane and tail became awfully curly and tangled beyond combing.

"Let me guess. You're Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow's body snapped and stood, knocking off Spike from her. Pointing a hoof towards herself, she said, "Yes! Me, one and only!" She flew over Twilight. "Why, you heard of me?"

Twilight can't help but sigh. "I heard you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess sent me to check on the weather."

Rainbow Dash lay down on the cloud. "Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap. I'll do it in a jiffy. Just as soon as I'm done practicing."

Rainbow Dash said she want to join the Wonderbolts, the reason she's practicing. Twilight said that Wonderbolts can't accept pegasi that can't clear the skies in one measly day. After a long conversation, Twilight said, "**Prove **it."

With the words, Rainbow Dash flew to the sky, kicking them one after another. Twilight watched how fast she is. She somehow underestimated her, but she can't help but look. Winds blew Twilight's now messed up hair. Naruto watched too, for he had never seen anything like this…in Konoha, somehow.

"Loop the loop around, and wham!" She descended to the bridge nearby. "What'd I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat." as she points her hoof to the sky. "I'd never leave Ponyville hanging. You should see the look on your face." She laughs as she flies to the skies, upside down. "Ha! You're a laugh, Twilight Sparkle. I can't wait to hang out some more."

"Rrgh." She groaned.

Spike made an attempt to cheer her up. "Wait! It's kinda pretty once you get used to it."

Max thought of some plan. "Hey, RD! Let's have a race."

Rainbow Dash went wide-eyed in happiness. She was so happy she could race with another pony! "Numbe one, you thought of a cool nickname for me. Number two, I am more than willing to do so!"

The two postioned in the ground, scratching off the dirt. They were ready to race. Eyes fixed on the goal, ears on Spike, who will signal the start.

"First one to go to that **cake shop** over there wins." Spike announced.

"Ready!..." Rainbow Dash and Max bent down.

"Set!...Go!" The two dashed. Air whirled beside them. The two engaged in dangerous obstacles, mainly carts, fences, houses, and ponies. They dodged each and every one of them, and finally, the race came into a stop.

"I won! I'm the fastest racer in Equestria!" RD shouted. Everypony heard and turned to the pegasus. She gave a nervous laugh, and the rest went off to resume what they're doing. Max smiled how fast RD is.

"Wow, you're fast." Max commented.

"Thanks! Let's go back." Rainbow Dash said. She flew away, trying to outrun him again. She reached Twilight, but she was shocked to see Max right in front of her. She can't believe that an earth pony outran her.

"H-how…did y-you get h-here?" she said reluctantly.

"Of course I ran! What else did you think I did?" Max said.

"Anyway, we're going to the next place." Twilight walked away with Max and Spike. They headed to the Ponyville town hall.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Twilight and Spike entered the door, Max stopped, but the two didn't notice. DJ dropped from the town hall, deactivating his Sharingan. The two nodded to each other, then went inside the hall. Decorations were hanging in the roof, with pictures of ponies, and some are ribbons of different colors. Spike was writing something in the paper, and then looked up on the well-decored hall.

"Decorations. Beautiful…"

"Yes, The decor is coming along nicely. This oughtta be quick. I'll be at the library in no time. Beautiful indeed." Twilight assumed.

"No, not the décor, her!" Spike said. A white unicorn was in the far middle of the stage, looking away. She had an indigo clean curled mane, with gems for a cutie mark. She then turned towards the five, as if she saw them, but ironically, she made ribbons float, choosing the matching color.

"No, no, no, Ooh! Goodness no…" She said as she pulled out one by one a ribbon of each color. Spike was staring at her, and then touching the sides of his head and his tail, he said.

"How are my spines? Are they straight?" Twilight stared, and then rolled her eyes as she walked closer to the unicorn.

"_She kinda reminds me of Ino, but with full control and sense of formality in her."_ Naruto thought.

Twilight started to talk. "Good afternoon-" but was cut off.

"Just a moment, please! I'm 'in the zone', as it were. Oh, yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not?" as she tied a red ribbon to a wooden post. While speaking to herself, she continued. "Why, Rarity, you are a talent." She turned around and opened her eyes. "Now how can I help yo-"

Rarity yelped at the mess Twilight's hair was in. "Oh my stars darling! Whatever happened to your coiffure?"

Max interrupted. "Bonjour, Mlle Rareté! Les décorations sont magnifiques! Et ta crinière est éclatante! (Hello, Miss Rarity! The decorations are beautiful! And your mane is dazzling!)" He said with a French accent.

"Je vous remercie, mon cher! Je vous remercie! (Thank you, my dear! Thank you!)" Rarity swooned, impressed greatly at the young stallion. "Même si vous êtes un peu bizarre dans vos vêtements, vous m'étonnez. Depuis quand avez-vous appris à parler français? (Even you are a little weird in your clothes, you surprise me. Since when did you learn how to speak French?)"

"Juste la nuit dernière. (Just last night.)" Max replied. _"But actually, DJ just heard and saw lip movements from Rarity earlier inside the town hall so…he sent the info on my surrogate, then to me."_

Rarity shouted. "Vraiment étonnant! (Truly amazing!)"

Rarity whispered to Max's ear. "Soit dit en passant, votre compatriote, là-bas ressemble terriblement mauvaise. (By the way, your fellow there looks terribly bad.)"

Naruto frowned. He was under the impression that he was being spoken about. _"Are they talking about how my clothes look bad!"_

"Et vous, ma chère! À propos de ta crinière... (And you, my dear! About your mane…)" Rarity looked at Twilight. Twilight didn't know what she's saying, but she got the message.

Looking at her mane, she said, "It's a long story. I'm just here to check on the decorations, and then I'll be out of your hair!"

"Out of _my_ hair? What about _your_ hair?" She pushed Twilight a room.

"Wait, where are we going? Help!" Twilight said as Spike floated in midair, spinning his tail in love to keep himself aloft.

Later, the five were in Rarity's boutique. Rarity applied clothes to Twilight, but it took quite some time to get the matching dress for Twilight.

"No, no. Uh-uh! Too green. Too yellow. Too poofy. Not poofy enough. Too frilly. Too shiny." Rarity managed to match a dress for Twilight. It was a white saddle, with an emerald on the chest. Two strips of white cloth dance in the air.

"Now, go on, my dear. You were telling me where you're from." Said Rarity as she pulled the two strips of cloth from the dress, squeezing the poor purple pony. Twilight felt her lungs being compressed. She can't tell if her bones are starting to snap, but she hoped not.

"I'm…been…sent…from…Canterlot…to-" Twilight struggled to get some air, shedding a tear in pain. But as Rarity heard the word "Canterlot", she was surprised. She let go of the pair of cloth strips, sending Twilight and Rarity in opposite directions.

Naruto sighed. "Girls. They're so damn choosy about what they wear, and so caring about their faces thick in makeup. Are they like this?"

Max replied, not taking his eyes away from Rarity and Twilight. "Well, why did you ask? Ino is reason enough. Sakura is a bit…more out-of-the-normal-standards girl. She doesn't make herself excessively beautiful; she's just being herself. Yet she captured your heart…by accident."

Naruto started to think about Sakura again. He remembered how she commented on his actions, his very, very weird and childish actions. Sakura also managed to hurt him several times; some are serious, and some maybe even fatal. But Naruto didn't mind. Hinata loves him, and he can't go out showing that he doesn't give a fahk about Hinata. But then again, he was not on his world, and he somewhat missed her.

XXXXXXXXX

After a while, Twilight dashed out of the boutique, carrying Spike in her back. Spike, still fantasizing about Rarity, sat on the back, looking at the clouds.

"Wasn't she wonderful?" Spike said.

"Focus, Cassanova. What's next on the list?" Twilight said.

Spike sat up straight. "Eh-em. Oh, uh…music! It's the last one!"

Then, suddenly, Twilight stopped to the sound of whistling birds. Max was walking, the he stopped from the hoof of Naruto, who heard the sound first before him. DJ stopped, too, tuning in and listening carefully. Max nodded to Naruto and DJ, then the three dashed to a nearby bush. Twilight followed, and popped out from the bush. They saw a yellow pony, a pink, clean mane, three butterflies as a cutie mark, staying in midair, facing a thin tree, with different kinds of birds. The eighteen birds were singing, but one was out of ensemble synchronization. It was a blue bird, and it kept singing.

Fluttershy immediately ordered the birds to stop and approached the blue bird. "Excuse me sir? I mean no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny tiny bit off." Then she flew away to a distance.

"Now, follow me, please. A one, a two, a one, two, three-"

"Hello!" shouted Twilight. The sudden shout made the birds fly away, scaring them and making Fluttershy gasp in shock.

"Oh, my, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten your birds. I was just here to check up on the music, and it's sounding beautiful." Twilight commented. But Fluttershy just scratched on the ground, looking at it, then to Twilight, alternately. Twilight, not trying to be rude, forced a smile.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle…what's your name?" she pointed a hoof.

"Um…I'm Fluttershy…" she muttered.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Twilight asked.

"Um…my name is Fluttershy…" she whispered.

"Didn't quite catch that." Twilight said.

"My name is Fluttershy?" Fluttershy squeaked beyond audibility.

The birds flew back. "Well, it looks like your birds are back! So I guess everything's in order. Keep up the good work!"

"Um…okay…" Fluttershy squeaked…again.

"Ohhkay…" Twilight walked away.

Meanwhile, Naruto commented. "She's like Hinata. Chaotic girlish."

"Agreed." DJ and Max chorused. They jumped out of the bush, seeing the birds stand on the tree branch. Max patted the blue bird that descended on him.

"Wow, what a cute little bird. I wonder what species is this?" he wondered.

"Oh, it's a mountain blue bird." Fluttershy replied.

"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself. I am Max."

"I'm DJ, and this is Naruto." DJ introduced.

Max returned the bird to its branch. He went to Twilight, and the two followed. Twilight was looking at the bush, and Spike popped up.

"Well, that was easy." Twilight said to Spike.

When Fluttershy saw Spike, she shouted, "A BABY DRAGON!" and ran towards Spike, knocking off Twilight.

"Oh, I never seen a baby dragon before! He's soooo cute!" she said.

"Well, well, well…" Spike said.

"Oh my, he talks. I didn't know dragons could talk." Fluttershy added. "That was just so incredibly wonderful, I just don't even know what to say!" She flew in the air. But Twilight picked up Spike, saying that they are leaving but Fluttershy tailed.

XXXXXXXXX

After a long day, the six went to the library. Max, Naruto, and DJ were so tired. Telling the whole story to Fluttershy, Spike finished.

"And that's the story of my whole life. Well, up until today. Would you like to hear today?" Spike suggested.

"Aww, no!" Max, Naruto and DJ chorused.

"Oh, yes please!" Fluttershy insisted.

"I am so sorry. How did we get here so fast?" Twilight shifted to face Fluttershy, making an alibi to escape from her. "This is where I'm staying while I'm in Ponyville, and my poor baby dragon needs his sleep."

"No I don't-" Spike said, but he was knocked off from Twilight's back by force. Twilight gave a grin.

"Aww, look at that. He's so sweepy, he can't keep his little bawance." Twilight mockingly reasoned.

Fluttershy swooped Spike from the ground, and into her hooves. "Poor thing, you simply must get him to bed." Fluttershy opened the door, and put Spike inside it. Twilight rushed in, and pushed Fluttershy out of the door.

"Yes, yes. We'll get right on that. Well, good night!" Twilight slammed the door.

XXXXXXX

"Hmph. Rude much?" Spike snapped.

Twilight didn't mind the darkness she was in. She replied. "Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we are running out of time. I just need to be alone so I can study while a bunch of crazy ponies trying to be friends all the time. Now, where's the light?" She looked from left to right.

Suddenly, one flick was heard, and it sent lights shining on the library. A party popper was blown, followed by the small party blown horn. A bunch of ponies were in the lower library. Many ponies were seen. A unicorn with a green coat, a **pegasus with blonde hair, yellow wandering eyes, and bubbles for a cutie mark**.

"Ugh…." Twilight groaned.

A pink earth pony with a fluffy pinkier mane and tail, with balloons for a cutie mark, was seen. "Surprise!" she said.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Huh? Were you? Were you?" she said non-stop.

Meanwhile, the three were upstairs in the bedroom. They were fast asleep, tired from the journey. But, before they slept, they left six shadow clones, two from each one. The clones dispelled their form on top of the library tree. As three discussed about the fight soon, the other three watched and discussed about the party thrown by Pinkie Pie, being alert when four o' clock strikes.

"What! Not even Sage Mode and senjutsu?" Naruto exclaimed. All freedom of using jutsus were taken from Naruto, and he wants to defeat the Mare in the Moon so badly.

"Look, using it will tire us easily. We'll need reserved energy to fight her again. Because there are two parts of the fight: One is in the town hall, which we'll hopefully mess up the place real good, and two, far out in the ancient castle of the Royal Ponysisters, which is so damn far." Max reasoned out.

"Well, how about we use Sage Mode in the second part of the battle?" Naruto thoroughly thought of a plan.

"Wait…I did not even think of it." He sighed. "Alright, but first, you need to learn how to make **repeating** shadow clones."

"Repeating shadow clones?"

"They are clones that spawn definitely or indefinitely unless dispersed by the creator. It consumes a great chunk of good chakra to perform it. The special thing about it is when the clone takes enough damage to disperse, another one will spawn in its place. For example, you punched one. The clone will bend backwards from the force of the punch, but as soon as the clone disperses, another one will spawn in the same position and place of the previous one; bent backwards, too." DJ explained. "Also, it can send chakra and natural energy it gathered without the need of dispersion." he added.

"Number two on the list is gathering chakra." Max said.

"What? How does one do that?" the curious Naruto asked.

"You do the Ram seal, and you use your body as a chakra receiver. The technique is quite useful, but you must not move, similar to gathering natural energy." DJ again explained.

"By the way, to make definite repeating clones, you need to use chakra enough for the amount of times you need the repeating clone to respawn itself. If you need to make an indefinite number of clones, you must at least use 99% of your chakra pool. Nonetheless, the Clone seal is still used." Max added.

"Alright. I'll try now." Naruto said as he jumped off from the tree.

Meanwhile, the other three were looking from the window. They discussed about Pinkie Pie, and what happened to Twilight there.

"Who in the right mind would use hot sauce to add 'zing' on the drink!" Naruto gave a hearty laugh, shedding tears.

"A fool, of course! It's so funny, I could use it as a prank!" DJ joined Naruto.

"Well, I feel sorry for her. She didn't know it was hot sauce then. Now, Twilight wished she knew then what she knew now." Max resisted laughing, but turned into giggles.

"Anyway…hahaha…let's find a place where we **talked** about."Max said.

The other three told the first three that they should find a suitable place. As they traveled somewhere outside the Everfree Forest, they found a **deserted and partially destroyed treehouse**. In there they trained and felt natural energy for the meantime.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back at the bedroom, the three were asleep, with earmuffs on. Twilight covered her ears with a pillow, but the sound of wubstep pierced through the stuffing. Twilight looked at the ticking clock left of her. It pointed 4:00 am.

"Uhhhhh…" Twilight said with a tone of annoyance.

A door opened. It was Spike, wearing a lampshade as a helmet. Three confetti strips was hanging from the top.

"Hey, Twilight! Pinkie Pie started "Pin the tail on the pony"! Wanna play?" Spike asked.

"No! All the ponies in this town are CRAZY! Do you know what time it is!" Twilight said, looking back at the wall clock.

"It's the Eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. Everypony has to stay up, or they will miss when the Princess raises the sun." Spike replied. "You really shoudn't nap, Twilight. It's a party!" he walked out of the room.

"Ibibibibibi, imiminibibibi!" Twilight mocked Spike's reasoning.

"Ugh. Here I thought I have time to learn more about the Elements of Harmony, but, silly me! All this ridiculous friend-making has kept me from it!" as she turned onto her right. But looking at the moon again, she knows she needs to prevent an eternal night.

She muttered. "Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid her escape, and bring about everlasting night. I hope Princess was right. I hope it is just an old ponies' tale."

The door swung abruptly, the music once again flooding the room. "Come on, Twilight! It's time to watch the sun rise!" as Spike gestured. Twilight woke the real three, getting a refreshing sleep.

"Oh, yeah! I'm so pumped to watch the sun rise!" Max said, shocking Twilight.

"Me too!" Naruto and DJ chorused. Twilight gathered them all up, leaving for the Summer Sun Celebration. Little did Twilight and Spike know that the three left behind a repeating shadow clone in the wrecked treehouse.

At the town hall, everypony were gathered. The mayor gave a speech, but Twilight was busy looking at the moon. Four stars closed in on the moon, and the banishing seal was lifted. Max, DJ and Naruto were on full alert. Max and DJ activated their Sharingan, away from Twilight, searching for chakra signatures, and Naruto searched with his eyes of any hint of killing or hatred intent.

"Even though I know this Nightmare Moon very well, I can't help it but to be nervous." Max whispered to DJ and Naruto. "I can feel and hear my heart beat."

The curtains were lifted, but it showed nothing. Everypony became nervous. The mayor was trying her best to ease the situation.

"She's behind the curtains." Naruto whispered back. "Oh, yeah. I'm gonna beat you to a pulp."

But Twilight shivered. "This can't be good."

"Remain calm, everypony. There must be a reason or explanation." the mayor said.

"Ooh! Ooh! I love guessing games! Is she hiding?" Pinkie said as she looked everywhere.

Rarity came out from the curtains. "She's gone!" Everypony gasped in horror.

Pinkie turned to Twilight. "She's gooooone." but turned back to the balcony. "AAH!"

Twilight knew this was coming. "Oh no!" she said as she lowered down. Blue smoke accumulated in the balcony, and it split into half. It revealed a tall,black alicorn, with flowing blue mane and tail. It has a crescent moon cutiemark, and one stare at her made Naruto tremble lightly.

_"This...is Nightmare Moon? I better stomach her intimidating appearance."_ Naruto thought. Spike fell down from Twilight's back out of fear.

"Oh, my beloved subjects! It's been so long since I have seen your precious little sun-like faces." Nightmare Moon spoke. Three fillies were snuggled up in a curtain. Max saw the three.

_"Hey, aren't those the CMC? Why does it look like they know each other?"_

"What did you do to our Princess?" Rainbow Dash tried to fly towards her, but restrained by Applejack, cannot do so.

Nightmare Moon giggled. "Well, well. Am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

Pinkie Pie thought it was another game. "Ooh, ooh, more guessing games! Uh, Pokey-Smokes! How 'bout, Queen Meanie? No, Black Snooty! Black Snooty! Bhmmk smmmphty! Bhmmk smmmphty!" but was shoved an apple in her mouth.

"Does my crown no longer count just because I've been imprisoned for a thousand years?" Nightmare Moon approached Fluttershy, scaring the birds away. "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?" she said as she touched Rarity's face.

Twilight shouted. "I did! I know who you are! You are the Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon!" With that, everypony gasped.

"Well, well, well. Somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I am here?"

"You're here to…to…" Twilight didn't finish her words because she was scared to death.

Suddenly, a voice rang. "…to bring eternal night throughout the land. Isn't that right, Luna?" Max stepped out. His left eye was a Sharingan, and his right was not. Twilight wondered what it is. But that was not the first eye-catching thing to her. She saw, in his clothes. He was not wearing the platinum badge, and so is DJ and Naruto. Twilight even shivered in fear.

_"They are not being controlled at all! Who are they? Spies! No wait...if they are, then why didn't they join Nightmare Moon?" _Twilight wondered.

Nightmare Moon was shocked to see a pony who knows more about her than Twilight. "And who you might be?"

"Max. Old friend of Celestia." he said.

"He's correct. From this day, the night, will last, FOREVER!" Nightmare Moon gave a loud, evil laugh. She formed a blue cloud from her horn, swirling it up into the air. Max jumped to punch her, but she countered it using lightning. Max groaned in pain, as he fell from the balcony, bearing a lightning strike to the chest. Twilight rushed next to him.

"NO! You can't die yet!" she said as tears ran down from her eyes. Just then, a puff of smoke was seen, revealing Max's body as a log. It had an orange tag in it, with two shurikens punctured in the tag. Twilight jumped in horror, recognizing the trick that was made in the library. The tag burned in a split second, exploding in the log but not destroying it. It sent two shurikens earlier spinning and making a cut on Nightmare Moon's cheeks. Then, Max popped up, making a joke.

"Wanna know how she got those scars?" the crowd laughed. Nightmare Moon became extremely furious, sending an energy beam towards Max. It hit him, making him scream in pain.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!"


	7. It Is On! Nightmare Moon vs The Three!

**Chapter 7**

**It is on! Nightmare Moon vs. the three!**

"Holy…rnnnng!" Max said as he fell to the ground. He had difficulty in standing up, but eventually he did. Naruto and DJ rushed next to him, checking any signs of broken bones. Twilight also came, flashing her horn with magic. She pointed her horn at Max, glowing with purple magic.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Naruto asked.

"Hmm…let me see…" DJ said as he pulled out his glasses. It had Byakugan markings on it. He put on the glasses, and stared at Max.

"Well, how is he?" Naruto was worried.

She made a diagnosis. "It seems that there are no wounds, broken bones or internal bleeding." Twilight said as the bright purple glow of her horn became faint.

"But his **chakra points** are deactivated. You must reactivate them manually." DJ said as he put away his glasses, rubbing his eyes as if irritated. "And I don't wanna use this thing. It distorts my vision."

"Chakra points?" Twilight said. She was new to the word, so she got deductive on it.

"_First, what is chakra? Some kind of magical energy I guess? But, earth ponies don't use magic. Maybe these ponies are capable of using it?"_ Twilight wondered.

"Go fight her while I reactivate my chakra points." Max ordered. "For the meantime, accompany Max, Twilight. Check if he makes progress." DJ said as he turned to face Nightmare Moon. Then, the mayor shouted.

"Seize her! Only she knows where the Princess is!" as she pointed a hoof towards the evil mare. Three Royal guards rushed and tried to suppress **NM**, she stared with eyes glowing. The Pegasi didn't fear anything at first, but soon, they will, after this mess.

"Stand back, you fools! Ahaahahaha!..." and then, lightning struck two guards, then the last guard, sending thousands of volts that partially rendered the pegasi immovable. Just then, Max bit his arm, making it bleed. He can feel the pain, for it's a long time since he summoned anything. But summoning is not the purpose.

"Don't do that!" Twilight yelled. She watched Max as he pulled out a feather, dipping one end to the wound, then grabbing a piece of a blank tag, he wrote characters. After writing all, he blew the paper, and it went flying towards the two swinging doors. It attached itself to the gap, making it tight as steel. Then, Max sat down, as if meditating. Twilight was confused, so she didn't understand, but something was even peculiar beyond visual possibility. The wound where he bit the skin in his hoof was nowhere to be found. Instead, it left fresh, untouched skin.

"_What! There is a wound earlier there! How could he leave no scar?"_

Naruto and DJ stared at Nightmare Moon. "Let's do this!" they chorused as they did a **brohoof** to each other. As they ran, they were near-missing lightning strikes thrown by NM. The two jumped on the edge of a pair tables positioned on the sides of the town hall, sending a hundred objects flying towards her, but Nightmare Moon just casted a spell to deflect objects. Most objects were shattered to pieces, smearing the floor with thousands of sharp, tiny shards of glass, and some glassware miraculously remained intact. As she was done casting the spell, Naruto went flying towards her face legs first, but she reacted quickly, bouncing off her as a kick sent the yellow colt flying. DJ came in for the punch, but was stopped by Nightmare's hoof. A grin reaped across his face, as he shifted his body to kick her face. She fell down to the ground, making a thick, blue smoke that set the floor to zero visibility. Screams were heard as the ponies panicked in lack of sight, but he remained calm. Naruto jumped to the balcony, standing beside DJ as the blue smoke churned in the town hall floor. DJ activated his Sharingan for a while. Naruto tried to sense killing intent on the smoke, but it was useless.

"Every part of the smoke is covered in killing intent!" Naruto was so frustrated he could just smash a bone into splinters. But then again, he had no hands!..for this time, only. DJ listened to Naruto as he searched for Nightmare Moon beyond the smoke, observing it carefully. He kept looking, but it seems that he can't find her anywhere.

"Is it a genjutsu?" Naruto asked as he stared helplessly at the smoke. It looked like a genjutsu after all, because it distorts the visibility of the floor.

"No it's not. The energy isn't fluctuating. It acts as a cover from plain sight, at the same time it's a defensive type of magic." DJ said. But before he can jump, two crescent-shaped black discs flew towards him. He had no choice but to tilt his head, only to miss it. He looked back at the two shards that cut in the concrete design like butter. Picking one of it, he looked closely at the disc.

"Looks like she's a fast learner. Our enemy is harder than we imagined." He said as he dropped the disc. "Recently, she copied the shuriken surprise of Max. It's really hard to fight an enemy that reads your every movement, just like Itachi. But even harder is fighting someone, or somepony that is not from your world, plus, you don't even know what you're up against." As the two keep looking for a way out of this, the smoke cleared up. It showed Nightmare in the middle of the hall, staring at them two. DJ got an idea to reactivate Max's chakra pathway system, an idea he thought of just now.

"Hey, why did you turn evil, Luna? I thought you want to raise the moon." he said. He didn't think it was a good idea, but he needed to see where this is going.

"It's simple, my dear. They have shunned the nights I put a lot of effort through!" Nightmare Moon remained control not to attack the two. Creating a single night is difficult, and considering doing it for 2000 years from their rule up until now, it's near impossible to be enjoying it since everypony just sleeps through every night, not even looking at the stars in the heavens, according to her book, anyway. DJ thought of another reason.

"Well, you got the greatest job in Equestria. Raising the moon is one of them. Look, I'm just a high school student, and it sucks, right? I gotta admit it's not from your world; it's mine. But looking at everyday ponies, all they can do is do things worth doing for their lives, including studying, while you, my dear alicorn, are a special one. Can anypony raise the moon other than you two? I don't think so." He said. _"Man, arguing has never been so fun!"_ as he grinned like a school girl on a prom night.

"I understand. I know having a special talent is a gift. But what if your talent is being ignored? I tried my best to arrange the stars in the night sky, but for a thousand years, they still shunned! You know how one feels when their hardwork is for nothing!" Nightmare Moon sympathized.

"Well, your work is very useful. If you didn't raise the moon, we and your "loyal subjects" will endure the heat while sleeping, and the bright lights are a nuisance! And, nopony's gonna sleep like the same way they did before! Come on! I hate sleeping on hot nights! You know it too, and all of you!" DJ reasoned out, referencing the present ponies in the hall.

"But they used my work as nothing more than to use as a sleeping catalyst! These ponies don't know how to appreciate a master's art!" she said as she looked around.

"_Man, she sounds like Deidara."_ DJ thought. Twilight Sparkle thought that reasoning can defeat Nightmare Moon. She gave a smile, as she looked at Max. But something made her feel uneasy. She can feel the anger in Nightmare's heart grow larger when she felt the air was too stoffy. She took a few steps back, even though she needs to stay close to Max. Max then looked at Twilight, being scared. He knew something was gonna happen so bad. He looked back to Nightmare, her eyes glowing white. To add more problems, he didn't even activate a single chakra point on his body, despite his attempt. Looks like the plan didn't turn out well.

Nightmare Moon can't take it anymore. She remembered how the ponies simply looked away and closed their eyes from the decorated sky back then. She started swirling wind inside the hall out of anger. With her head bowed down, she said in a deep, scary voice.

"I'LL. KILL. YOU. ALL!" a burst of energy enveloped the hall. It started to whirl objects around, including glass shards, making the atmosphere dangerous. A pair of tables went flying in the air, reducing the woodwork to pieces. Max, Naruto and DJ didn't have time to grab onto something, getting caught in the raging tornado. The three were next to each other, swirling repeatedly. Even though they were in a middle of disaster, Naruto remained calm, as if he doesn't care what's gonna happen next to him.

Crossing his arms, rather front legs, he said with a lazy voice, "Man, can we use Rasengan now?"

"If we only had a **chance**…" Max said. "We need to find a way that the ponies will not witness our jutsus. The one earlier in the library was just a testament to our speed."

"So, you showed off?" DJ wondered.

"No! Not at all. We did it for Twilight and Spike to get the **message**."

"What message?" DJ asked.

"That we are not the type that they can freely mess around with." Max said.

"But, why are we still on to this incognito business?" Naruto said, stil not minding the swirling air.

"One, to show I'm not a boastful colt, second, for others to be surprised. I like being so modest, people, or ponies can't believe that I'm quite strong for a normal one." he reasoned.

"Okay…I get it…somehow…but we need to go down to the floor!" Naruto finally cared about the tornado they and he were in. Meanwhile, Twilight looked at the three helplessly swirling inside the raging tornado. She saw that there were no objects inside the tornado, but outside of it. She can't stop Nightmare Moon because she was too afraid to be suffering in the same fate as Max, Naruto and DJ are currently in.

"Oh, I hope they will be okay…" Twilight worried. Meanwhile, Max thought of something.

"Guys, let's grab each other and hold close." he said as he reached out his hooves. Naruto and DJ grabbed, pulling each other towards the eye of the tornado. They realized they were slowly descending down, close to the dangerous air right in front of them.

"Nice thinking! How is this possible?" Naruto said as he looked on his hooves in surprise that they and he were still in one piece.

"The eye is the calmest part of a tornado." Max explained. They were in the eye of the tornado. They want to fight Nightmare Moon, but they cannot do so because only one huge mistake, and they will be shot out of the hall. Max was thinking hard. He needed to find a **way** to wreak havoc outside the tornado, hopefully hurting her randomly. He brought out three shurikens, throwing them in the tornado wall, sending it flying outside the tornado and towards the walls. It looked like someone was playing pinball in the town hall, the shurikens bouncing off from porcelain, concrete, and metal repeatedly. It hit some banners at the ceiling, cutting them and smearing the five of the successors of the EoM, temporarily preventing them from seeing anything. As tables were broken, a half was sent sliding towards Twilight, providing cover for her. Twilight closed her eyes, thinking she will be hit, but she was mistaken. Twilight peeked from the table, like a baby trying to climb the cages of a crib. She saw that Nightmare Moon was covered in cuts, and the two were smiling, like it went smoothly. But, Max was staring at the five knocked-out ponies, making an angry face. Twilight then noticed something red in Max's left eye. It was the same design she saw earlier before Max was struck by Nightmare Moon's magic. Max, secretly realizing his right Sharingan activated, he deactivated it. He then faced towards the evil mare, struggling to stand up. Max, Naruto, and DJ stared at each other, nodding, and nodding back.

He then gave the signal. "Let's do this!" as they ran towards her. Nightmare Moon tried to escape, but was too late; she was caught in the powerful kick of DJ, yelling "NA!", sending her crashing in the wall, facing it. But before even she reached the wall, there was Naruto, who had a ball of wildly rotating, bright chakra that hit Nightmare Moon dead-center in the body, yelling "RU!" The poor mare was sent flying towards the pile of five ponies, but was stopped by an uppercut of Max's hoof, shouting "TO!" This time, it sent her flying in the air, like a seabird diving to the sea – only reversed. Then, DJ and Max ran a little bit forward, positioning next to each other, laying their front hooves to the ground. Naruto stepped in, then they launched him into the air, the two pairs of hooves acting as a catapult. Then, Naruto drop kicked Nightmare Moon right in the face, shouting "UZUMAKI'S SPECIAL BARRAGE!", a proof of how Naruto is so pissed off of her actions and reasons. After Naruto set foot on the floor, the three jumped away from the falling mare, with Max leaving an **exploding clone**. Nightmare Moon was sent diving towards the floor head first, yet before even reaching the floor, an explosion was heard, sending Nightmare Moon crashing in the entrance door. Max approached her, who was a neat-looking evil mare before, but now, covered with cuts and having a fluffy, dirtied mane. The five ponies regained consciousness, then seeing Max walking towards Nightmare Moon. Too weak, the five watched Max, getting closer to her. She coughed as she smelt the dust and smoke, then trying to stand up. She looked in front of herself, and saw Max's left eye possessed a red background, and three marks. He looked at her, then he muttered.

"**Tsukuyomi**..."


	8. What The Heck Happened? Secrets Shown!

**Chapter 8**

**What The Heck Just Happened!? Secrets Revealed!**

**Note: **Sorry! Read Chapter 3 again! I finally saw something was wrong.

The sound of gentle, blowing wind whistled across the hall. Nightmare Moon panicked as she looked at the scarlet sky filled with dark clouds, while being restrained to a flat, wooden surface, with cuffs in a cross position. She saw everything in black and white, mostly black. No ponies around, not even a filly. All she can see is partial She had a feeling she experienced something similar like this before. Was this feeling really real? Or not? She can't tell. She then thought of escaping this restraint. She tried to focus energy on her horn to disassemble the screws and cuffs, but no matter how much effort she made on every attempt, she can't take it off. She panicked, thinking about what if she was stuck on the wood forever.

"What is this place?" as fear made her break a sweat.

A figure popped out in front of her. It had a spiky, black hair, with a headband on it. It wears a black robe that has clouds encircling it. The eye in the left was red, sporting the same design before. It stood on two legs, with low-cut black, athletic shoes named "Converse". The figure was staring at her, holding a long, thin blade. Overall, Nightmare Moon recognized the figure.

"You are not a pony!?" Nightmare Moon exclaimed, not believing the same pony that attacked her earlier was the same right now, in a different form. But before being answered, Max struck the katana in her lower left, making the evil mare groan in pain.

"Tsukuyomi…" as he twisted the katana to add more pain. It was so great, Nightmare Moon passed out, her sight fading to the darkness. After a while, she awakened, only to find herself still restrained. She looked down to the side of which she was struck earlier, only to find no wound was made. She then stared at Max, which was now with a clone, holding a katana.

"So…it was only an illusion?" she asked herself.

"In the Tsukuyomi," Max stabbed the katana to her. "time and space," his clone was in turn to stab her, "even physical mass, I control them all." while saying the lines Itachi told to him.

**Flashback**

Itachi trained him when he took Max under his wing after knowing he's the son of the **little girl** he met back then. He taught Max all about the Sharingan, and the usage of it to the best of Itachi's ability. He also kept Max from plain sight at that time to prevent sending the wrong impression that Max is being trained to be a killer.

One stormy night, they were training as usual, Max's body was burning with exhaustion, accompanied with heavy panting. His small, yet cute Akatsuki robe that Itachi gave him to wear, was tattered. Shurikens covered the ground, as well as the trees. As he held a kunai in his hand, he saw Itachi, his hair wet with rain, but he didn't even break a single sweat, nor did he show signs of exhaustion.

"Do I really have to keep up with you? I'm so tired!" Max complained. He can't take it anymore. He can feel his heart beat against his chest, his eyes feeling heavy. He pushed himself beyond the limits of his abilities.

"If you don't want to be stuck as a genin like the **Eternal Genin**, then you should not give up. Only real power is acquired through brutal training!" Itachi said forcefully.

Max then sat down with a sad face. Looking at the ground, he struck it with the kunai. "Maybe this is my limit. Maybe this is where I will stop." He was seven years old back then, and he was already taught advanced techniques. His body is too weak to endure Itachi's training. Instead of reprimanding him, he encouraged Max.

Touching his shoulder, he said, "You know, I'll tell you a secret." with a smile.

"And that is?" Max said, eager to know what will he say.

"I am not gifted." Itachi whispered in his ear.

"Are you fahking kidding me!? You always beat me in every battle we fought, and I rarely touch you with blades! I applied everything you taught to me, combined some of them, but no! I still lose! And you have the balls to falsely admit you're not a good ninja!?" Max shouted.

"Now, now now," Itachi said, calming the angry kid. "One, it's not false. Two, those are just abilities, not powers. The measure of how you use your powers is called ability." Itachi explained.

"But you're so fast! No hand seals, Sharingan expert, and powerful-"

"But low reserves of chakra." Itachi cutted out his word chain.

Max was never been so silent in his whole life. He had no idea that his sensei, which he looked up upon, whom he saw as an expert and the true heir of the Sharingan, possessed a weakness.

"And I do hand seals. I just weave them along with grabbing shurikens and kunais, that's why you don't see it. And I'm fast because of hard training." Itachi elaborated. What Max said was not as he thought it would be.

"But…why?" Max said with disappointment.

"Because I have a disease. I don't know how I contracted it; I just have it, like it mysteriously appeared. That's why I don't have much chakra that I need. In fact, I feel I need more. To make up for the loss, I trained myself hard."

"And your point is...?" Max said, wondering about the whole point of Itachi's secret.

"I'm not afraid to say I really am a prodigy. But I have limitations, and I know it very well. While you, on the other hand, knows no limit." Itachi continued. "You only know a handful of ninjutsu, but your chakra pool never seems to run out. No matter how many water-based jutsus I used against you, you countered it with so many fireballs. You got your Sharingan at a very, very young age. You have so much potential to be a ninja that bears a fearful moniker, you don't know how lucky you are. I sometimes wish that I were you, and if we switched places, you would say the same for me."

This made Max more determined to be strong not only for himself, but for the ones he loved. He suddenly stood up, brimming with confidence, persuading Itachi to train him harder and be relentless to him.

"So…fifty this time?"

"What? You're not making a kind of sick joke, are you?" Itachi worried about pushing the boy too far.

"Who says I'm joking?" Max said with a grin.

"I see. Let's start!" as Itachi returned back to the place where he stood earlier.

Another time, they were on a sunny grassfield. Itachi trained Max to use the Mangekyo Sharingan when his parents died on a house fire sleeping, to use Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi on seemingly impossible situations. Itachi casted Tsukuyomi to Max, and Max did the same to Itachi.

Itachi held his forehead in pain. It took 5 seconds before he shook his head and looked at Max and his Mangekyo Sharingan. Max had a nervous face as he touched the blood that flowed in his right eye.

"That was a remarkable Tsukuyomi. You can use it in both eyes. You absorbed what I taught you." Itachi remarked. "Since when did you activated it?"

"Well, when I watched my parents die, I guess?" Max said.

"Oh no…does this means my eyes are damaged?" Max asked with a worried tone, looking at his hand that was smeared in bright red blood.

"Don't worry, it's normal for any Uchiha to experience blood in their eyes when they use any of the two jutsus. I had it too." Itachi told about his experience in using it.

"Owww, it's painful!" Max said as the weight of sudden pain in every cell of his body made him kneel. "Man, I think I don't wanna use this jutsu anymore.

"Learn how to endure pain. Also, use it rarely and wisely. I don't want you being blind when you return to Konoha for the Chunin Exams. You are just 7 years old, and I want you to be strong for yourself, as you said. There are many ninjas that are older than you, 15 or so, and **one** of them is an Uchiha, and one of them also is the son of **Konoha's White Fang** . Itachi told Max about the successful ninjas. "I'm very impressed since you only used about one jutsu that won your battle against a ninja. Most of them use special ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu."

"Other ninjas…can you inform me?" Max wanted to know the successors beforehand.

"Also, one is Might Guy. He maybe just a little kid with a weird suit, but when against others, he is so proficient at using taijutsu, he can already activate 5 out of 8 Gates, which requires years of learning taijutsu."

"Be careful not to use Tsukuyomi for more than one second in real time, that's my safety limit." Itachi warned him about the cost of using the Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu.

"But dad said that I can regrow any part of my body fast!" Max recalled about the legend the Third Hokage informed about Takehiko.

"You don't want spiders crawling into your eye sockets when you take off your eyes, do you?" Itachi smiled, gesturing his fingers like the legs of a caught spider towards Max.

"Ah! No, no!" Max shook his head in fright. He had a young mind back then, so spiders were his primary fear.

Itachi laughed. "I'm just joking! Ahahahaha!" as he reached his pocket to a white piece of cloth, then wiping off the blood in Max's eyes. Max gave a stern look.

"Don't mmphake jofks likph that!" as the towel wiping made his speech quite inaudible.

"Let's go home." As Itachi took the young boy's hand, and walked beside him.

XXXXXX

Nightmare Moon was heavily sweating. It was her second time being awake in the Tsukuyomi. She tried to sense anything wrong in her body, but neither pain nor wound was felt. It was an illusion. Suddenly, Max and his clone again stabbed Nightmare Moon, repeating the same line.

"_It's just an illusion. You can survive this!"_ Nightmare Moon encouraged herself.

"Pain is pain, call it what you want. Do you think that you can ignore pain by just merely convincing yourself?" Max added. "The next 72 hours will be like this, over and over again." as he said with a sarcastic smile.

Nightmare Moon did the math. She can't survive a moment of stabbing, let alone three full days. She started to find a way to break out from the cuffs. But her body is too painful from the stabbing. And then again, she passed out. Later, she was awake again. She saw many copies of herself restrained to the wood everywhere. Suddenly, the copies faded into hundreds of Max.

"71 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds to go…" Max informed her.

"THAT WAS JUST ONE BUCKING SECOND!?" Nightmare Moon shat bricks in her pants…if there were any, that is.

"Eeyup. I'm sure of it." mocking Big Mac's trademark.

A thousand stabs came from everywhere. Nightmare Moon was in great pain, her sclera had grown red veins around it as she screamed for mercy. To add more pain, Max and his clones twisted the blade, ripping flesh. Again, she fainted. Max did it again when she was awake, despite Itachi's one second rule.

XXXXXX

Nightmare Moon stared at Max with great fright, now back to reality, that's what the other ponies saw. As soon as Max broke the Tsukuyomi, he threw a sterile gauze in his left eye, then fixing it in place with his Konoha headband. Nightmare Moon began to cough blood, which disgusted other ponies.

"_One, that was Schandenfreude. Two, it hurts so much. Three, it was cool! Four, I blew my cover off…a bit."_

"Stop it! Please!" as Nightmare Moon pleaded. She put her hooves above her head as muffled coughs were heard. Her tears mixed up on the little puddle of blood, which she didn't mind dirtying her face and mane.

"Don't worry. I'll let you out." he said with a smile.

After patting her on the head lightly, he grabbed a kunai in his mouth, then teared through the tag in the door. He opened the door wide open, and quickly she flew away. Rainbow Dash rushed to chase her, freeing from the bite of Applejack, but she escaped.

Twilight was filled with confusion mixed with fear, she can't help but to tap the ground like a Spanish dancer. She doesn't know what to do with the three anymore. Were the three are enemies or friends, Twilight asked herself.

The four ponies argued about the three, not minding the scared ponies to run outside and return to their respective houses.

"Who are those ponies? Ah have a feelin' something smells fishy around 'ere." Applejack said.

"Ooh! Ooh! It really smells fishy!" Pinkie Pie suddenly popped up from the window, looking at a pond with jumping fishes in it.

"How did you-ugh, nevermind. We need to investigate about those three ponies. Who are they? What kind of business they want here?" Rarity suggested. "By the way, where's Rainbow Dash?

"She escaped a while ago from my teeth. Darn that mare, runnin' off like that!" Applejack said angrily.

"Um, I-I think she went outside." Fluttershy reluctantly pointed her hoof towards the door.

"We can't hide it anymore. We'll just spill the beans." Max said to the two.

"But that's not the part of the plan!" Naruto exclaimed.

"What plan? And who really are you?" Twilight asked, but the three just ignored her.

"I'll take care of it, I promise." Max said, secretly giving a wink that says, _"I know what I'm doing. Trust me."_ Naruto smiled.

"Alright, let's start by carrying Twilight and Spike. Follow me!"

"What? But I'm oka-" Twilight argued, but it was too late, for DJ swooped Twilight and put her on his back, while Naruto carried Spike in his back.

DJ looked at Twilight. "Be ready for a ride. Hold on tight!" Twilight doesn't want to ride on his back, but tightened her grip on the colt anyway. They disappeared in one jump, almost avoiding sight of anypony, any except Rainbow Dash.

XXXXXX

Twilight thought about what happened when he looked at Nightmare Moon, why did he call him Luna, and mostly, who are they. She can't stand questions unanswered, like somepony can't stand scratching an itch, so once again, she asked.

"Who are you?"

"Sorry for hiding our personal info. Our names are real. The only thing is we're not old friends of your sensei, or teacher. We just came along four days ago." Max explained.

"And this absent-minded jerk summoned me here!" Naruto complained. "I still need to get used to this."

"So…you're undercover agents?" Twilight asked more.

"Yeah…" Max answered with hesitation. "…kinda like that. Spike is right. We are your bodyguards."

"Why did you lie? You need to show everypony you are a trusted bodyguard of the Princess!" Twilight said in disappointment.

"If we told you that, all the ponies will go panicking around, like they are prepared for the worst. Plus, casualities of Royal Guards will be extremely high, as they attempt to stop Nightmare Moon's plans." DJ explained.

"You know…keep calm and celebrate, maybe?" Naruto was short of words.

"First of all, what is that on your left eye? It looked evil and dangerous." Twilight said. She noticed the headband just before Nightmare Moon popped up.

"Oh, this?" Max said as he loosened the headband a bit, making the bloodied gauze fall off. "This…is a secret." Twilight squinted her eyes as soon he lifted the headband, but to much of Twilight's dismay, his eye was closed. The band closed.

Twilight knew that she needs to know more about the three. "So…you're not being controlled by those platinum badges?"

"Yeah. They're just a proof of Princess-approved ponies, like us." Naruto said. "Also, that was amazing, Max! How did you control your tails and gave me a Rasengan?"

"Umm, when I saw the five be seemingly crushed under the pile of rubble, I felt a rush of chakra throughout my body. Out of anger, I activated **them**."

"By the way, about the explosions & stuff-" Twilight asked more, but she noticed the library. She decided the interrogation will be done later on. For the meantime, she will read some books on the library.

As Twilight entered the door, the three went up to the balcony, bursting the door open.

XXXXXX

Rainbow Dash tailed the three. They were too fast for her as they covered three houses in one second by merely jumping. She stopped somewhere near the library. Rainbow Dash looked for any telltale signs of the three.

"Ugh, those little brats! Where are they!?" she placed a hoof on her forehead, looking from left to right, with squinted eyes. She saw three, no, five ponies in the library. The lights were turned on, giving away presence. As she was going to break in the door, a shout was heard.

"Rainbow Dash! Wait for us!" Applejack and company followed her all the way.

"We need to learn more about the mysterious newcomers! Hurry!" Rarity shouted.

"Yeah! We'll just ask them by force!" Rainbow dash chuckled as she charged at the door at full speed.

"Uh oh, looks like the big mad bull got loose!" Applejack followed RD in hopes of stopping her from doing harm.

Rainbow Dash suddenly slowed down near the door.. She wants to be compulsive on her, but needs surprise. Peeking from the window, she saw Twilight hurriedly searching books while chattering "Elements." Also, she saw the three sit on a space. She leaned back on the wall.

"_Elements?"_ Rainbow Dash wondered.

Peeking again, she was ready to pounce on the purple pony.

"Ugh! How can I defeat Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?" Twilight worried as books were scattered all over the floor. Max, Naruto and DJ are reading a book from the library, that are named 'How To Cover Your Identity', 'Types of Ponies', and 'Stuff Ponies Say', respectively. The three didn't mind her worrying about the EoD. Spike was so sleepy, he didn't wake up from a single exclamation from Twilight. Just suddenly, Rainbow Dash opened the door and questioned her about the last thing she said.

"And just what are the Elements of Harmony?" said Rainbow Dash as she flies near Twilight. Twilight slowly walked back as the cyan pegasus continued to interrogate her.

"And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy!?" Rainbow Dash jumped to a conclusion. Applejack tugged Rainbow Dash's tail faster than Twilight could answer.

"Simmer down, Sally. She ain't no spy." Applejack calmed down Rainbow Dash.

"That's because we are." Max said, while reading the book.

Everypony stared at the three. Naruto gave a big grin on them, then he shifted his eyes to Max.

"Mrrrckss…you jrrrk!" Naruto scolded him while maintaining the big grin.

"Oh, did it startle you? I was just j-" Max tried to explain, but Rainbow Dash made an attempt to kick him dead center, temporarily silencing him.

Max just raised his hoof to block her kick while reading a book, much to the latter's surprise. More and more kicks came, but Max kept her busy, just stopping two legs with one foreleg, while his tail flipped the pages. Then, Rainbow Dash stood a few meters away from him.

"Rainbow Dash! No!" Twilight screamed.

Charging at full speed, she used her front legs as a pivot, focusing total force in her hind legs. She attempted to hit Max by a downward swing kick, but Max sprang to action, holding RD's two legs with two hooves. It made a loud thud, the sound bellowing up to the bedroom. Spike nearly woke up from the noise by the eye squint, but too tired to move, he slept away. Then, with a light tap on Rainbow Dash's chest, it made her spring back, while she grunted in pain.

"Hey! RD! I was just joking! I'm no spy; if I were, I'd kill you right away. After all, I'm a pony that excels in erasing…existence." Max said, adding fear by using hyperbole. "How 'bout you? Wanna be…erased?"

Rainbow Dash can't believe she didn't saw Max dodge her kick. Realizing that he is stronger than her, the latter's cyan ears drooped from fear. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." as her rainbow-colored bangs darkened the area around her eyes.

"So, where were we? Ah, yes. Twilight's turn to do the explanation." as he pointed a hoof towards her.

"You know what's going on, don't you, Twilight?" Applejack approached her with the four.

Twilight sighed. "I read all of the predictions of Nightmare Moon. Some objects called The Elements of Harmony are the only ones that can stop her." She looked at the moon. "But I don't know what they are, where to find them, and what they do!"

"The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide." A voice popped out. It was Pinkie, staring at a shelf that contained the book. Twilight knocked her off, sending her flying at her left.

"How did you find it?" Twilight can't believe Pinkie's eyes are sharper than hers.

"It was under E!" Pinkie hopped across her.

"Oh…" Twilight replied with hesitation.

Naruto face-hoofed. "Twilight, do you even use a library shelf?"

"She is a bookworm, yet too lazy to use a shelf, she gets books by her assistant Spike. Ironic, if you ask me." Max replied.

Twilight levitated the book, opening its pages. She read. "There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known. Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth, is a complete mystery. It is said, that the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the Royal Ponysisters."

Naruto felt his hair stood up. He looked at the window, seeing a cloudy figure. Max noticed Naruto is shaking, so he asked.

"Something troubles you?"

"Yeah, I felt an uneasy presence in the window." Naruto shivered.

"Must be Nightmare Moon."

XXXXX

"It is located in what is now…The Everfree Forest!?" The six chorused.

Naruto can't believe how did he get in the forest. Looking at Max and DJ, he asked.

"How did we get in here?"

"Hmm, must be the episode." Max looked at the ground.

"What? What episode?"

* * *

**Note:** I will delay the next chapter because next week is the 1st Quarter exams. Sorry for this and pray that I will pass the exams!

**Update:** I'll be moving further the schedule thanks to the suspension of classes caused by rain.


	9. Let's Go! The Six Travels!

**Chapter 8**

**Note:** Sorry for the very long delay!

**Nightmare Moon, Part 2, Part 3 - Let's Go! The Six Travels!**

* * *

"Nevermind…" Max shook his head to break the conversation.

Pinkie Pie was so eager to go. "Whee! Let's go!"

But Twilight said, "Not so fast. Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather do this on my own…of course with the three."

Applejack insisted. "No can do, sugarcube. We sure ain't lettin' any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone. We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple."

"Yeah, Twilight. A group of allies is better than a single hero!" Max uttered words of wisdom.

"Let's go, shall we?" Naruto said, standing up straight, eyes gleaming with passion.

"Alright!" the five chorused as one by one, they walked inside the territory of the creepy forest.

XXXXXX

The forest was quite dark, but not dark enough to hinder the line of sight. Trees everywhere lined up like a battalion of soldiers, upright and sturdy. Many vines and plants were seen. The six walked in a single file, while the three walked side by side, in line with Twilight.

"Don't touch that." Max said as he turned to a patch of **blue plants**.

"So, none of you had ever been here before?" Twilight hesitantly asked.

"Ugh…h-heavens, no! Just look at it!...It's dreadful!" Rarity said as she looked at the eerie air.

"So…what is your business here?" Rainbow Dash asked the three.

"Well, we were asked four days ago, upon arrival, to protect you all for a special reason." Max said as he stared at Rainbow Dash with his right eye.

"I'd like to know what it is." Rarity calmly requested.

"Well, you're gonna find it out soon enough." DJ said.

"How did you almost defeat Nightmare Moon?" Twilight asked. "You drove her into begging for mercy!"

"Well, after years of training, we learned how to break rocks by a single hoof punch. Extremely difficult, if you ask me." Max said.

"You have a cool headband! What is it? What is it?" Pinkie Pie said, hopping constantly.

"It's a sign of dedication to a village. This, is the insignia of a leaf, because our village is hidden in the leaves." he explained as he touched his headband.

After some walking, they found themselves on a cliff. Applejack started.

"Well, we're on a cliff. Now we'll find out how-" But before Applejack could finish, the cliff broke into pieces. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy quickly reacted to fly over. The three were in the part where the cliff did not break.

"How did we get here?" Naruto asked.

"Because the author wants us to get here?" Max guessed.

"Really? How did you know?" Naruto questioned.

"Well, think about it. First, the script said we were aligned on Twilight, and now, we are here!" DJ said.

"Author and his scripts, huh?" Naruto said as he rubbed his chin, thinking about it. "Whoever he is, wish that the next scene is good!" Naruto said as he looked down at the sliding ponies. "And how do I know him right now?"

"Hold on, someone's talking to my earpiece." Max said as he put an earpiece near his right ear.

"Yeah…uh-huh…yeah…how long…okay…sure." Then Max kept the device.

"So, who was it?" DJ wanted to know.

"The author wants us to use Sage Mode for a brief moment. Just descend down there."

"Fluttershy! Quick!" Rainbow Dash rushed to stop them from sliding.

XXXX

Screams were heard as they helplessly slide down. But Rainbow Dash carried Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy bit Rarity's tail. Appplejack saw a branch that she can bite on. Twilight was unlucky. She didn't find any rock to stop sliding, but was near-death when she stopped on a cliff, half of her body hanging off the ledge. Applejack saw this, and she slided down to save the mare.

"Hold on I'm a-comin'!" she said as two orange hooves pressed against Twilight's hooves, stopping her from sliding, but not from fearing.

Twilight was never been scared in her life. Her hind legs kept scratching the rocky side of the ledge, while she stared at the ground below, 20 meters in depth.

"Gah! What do I do?" Twilight panicked as she felt a ticklish sensation in her thighs, a sign of acrophobia.

Applejack kept holding on, but she can't think clearly. She looked up on the sky with her left eye, and got an idea.

"Let go."

This had made Twilight nervous. "Are you crazy?" Any half-minded filly can realize that letting go will make them a pancake below.

"No ah ain't. Ah promise you'll be safe."

"That's not true!" Twilight said.

"Now listen here. What I'm sayin' to you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe."

Hearing the words, her eyes grew larger. Closing it, she let go. She can feel the wind blowing upwards as she screamed for help. But seconds later, she stopped in mid-air, realizing somepony catched her. Rather than somepony, it was someponies! Namely, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. As she sighed out of relief, she descended a little bit, making her scream for a brief moment.

"Sorry, girls, I'm not used to holding anything more than a bunny or two." Fluttershy explained, while Twilight watched Applejack jump down from ledge to ledge.

As the two pegasi put Twilight down, Nightmare Moon, in her cloud form, watched the six.

"_Hmph. They were good. But we'll see if you can pass this one!" _Nightmare Moon thought, before groaning from a headache. She rushed towards an idle Manticore and transformed into a thorn, puncturing herself into the innocent creature's paw, making the Manticore roar in pain.

XXXX

Twilight doesn't know what to say. She feels a little bit happy, but the cause of this is still unknown to her.

"Thank you, girls! Now we'll-"

Then suddenly, three figures came in, flying from above. They descended at a very high speed, and with the height, they made a pretty good shake on the ground, causing it to be branded with twelve hoof-marks and cracks to it.

Twilight was very shocked the moment she heard the thunderous boom of the impact of their hooves.

Wide eyed, she said, "How did you do that?"

Max and the other two brushed off their clothing of dirt. Twilight saw hints of orange around Max's eyelids, and his eyes were not of equine style. All those markings and eye patterns quickly faded.

"_What are those markings? More questions I need to ask."_ Twilight shook her head.

"Oh, Twilight! Sorry for the delay, are you fully functional?" Max checked up on her status.

"Yes, and no, I'm not a robot." Twilight responded.

"Gosh, pardner, how did ya pull that off? Anypony will be good as dead from that height." Applejack commented.

"Don't tell me, you have undergone that kind of training, too?" Rarity guessed.

"Maybe…maybe not."

Even though they were in a state of crisis, Pinkie Pie thought it was a guessing game.

"Ooh, ooh! I know, I know! Maybe…" Pinkie Pie thought carefully, putting a hoof in her chin that pointed to the beautifully painted night sky.

"Maybe, you jump off from your bed in a high floor every morning?"

Max sighed and facehoofed.

"Well, if I would do that, then I should be in the library now."

"How about from the stairs?"

"Possible."

"With…cupcakes on your hooves!"

"Ye-wait, what?"

"Come on, do you wanna sleep forever?" DJ reminded them they were on a mission. He broke up the little chit-chat between Pinkie and Max.

"Only Shikamaru can do that." Naruto replied.

"Anyway, let's go!" Max and company departed.

XXXX

They kept walking even further to the woods. It seems that the Everfree Forest has a single path towards a building. Nonetheless, The seven, excluding Max and his trusty clone, felt they are going to be lost at any moment. While the five were listening to Rainbow Dash, the three walked behind them.

Naruto whispered to Max. "Hey, these six are eager to know about us. Would it be okay for you to have your identity exposed sooner than three weeks later?"

He whispered back. "As long as that is one pony, yes."

"Why do you need to hide the truth from them?"

"That's because, I'm trying to be modest about my abilities. It's very bad if you go about unconscious boasting. They're like, "Damn, you arrogant asshaul!""

"But-"

"You hate getting interrupted by Tsunade with boring missions when you're training, right? When they see how we perform, ponies will keep using our help. Don't forget about yourself. You're stonger than an average pony."

Twilight noticed the two whispering to each other, so she asked. "What are you two talking about?"

Max was caught almost off-guard. "Oh, err..we're having a…barbecue thingy…"

"YOU EAT MEAT!?" Twilight was in great shock.

"No, no, no…I mean…it's just…a big surprise party sort-of-thing." Max made up a perfect alibi…almost…

Pinkie loved parties, and she rarely ever joined one, because she makes her own. "Can I join? Huh? Huh? Huh!?"

"Alright, it's fine." Max replied.

A beast with the body and head of a lion, with bat-like wings and a scorpion tail was in sight between two large cliffs. It seemed to stare at the group with murderous intent. Twilight and the others saw this.

"A **Manticore**!" she said as the beast stood on two legs and stretching its arms out, gave a loud, intimidating roar.

"We gotta get past it!" Twilight encouraged them. But Fluttershy saw something in its paw. It was a thorn. She wanted to calm the beast down, but the rest engaged the Manticore quickly. Fearing it would bring danger and death to them, she tried to talk sense, but her voice can't be heard over the roar of noise in the air.

The Manticore set its sight at Rarity. It made an attempt to pounce and scratch the unicorn with its right paw, but Rarity evaded the deathly swipe. A kick made by her reached the Manticore's face. Rarity got a little too confident from the successful blow she made.

"Take that, you ruffian!" she shouted. But the Manticore simply roared back at her with saliva flying across. Her hair got all tangled, puffy and unattractive.

"My hair!" she worried. The Manticore gave a growl, telling the white-coated pony not to mess with it again. She gave a brief yelp, before dashing to safety.

Fluttershy tried to communicate with a frightened Rarity. "Wait." But her soft voice didn't make it into Rarity's ears. The Manticore stopped giving chase when it sensed Aplejack taking a ride on it.

"Yee-haw! Get along, little doggie!" the orange pony yelled as she clang tight while the Manticore tried to shake her off. Fluttershy tried to call out Applejack, but her voice was not audible enough. The Manticore stopped jumping, and using its own body as a spring, it sent Applejack in the air.

Applejack called out to Rainbow Dash. "All yours, partner."

"I'm on it!" Rainbow Dash saluted away as she prepared to engage the ferocious beast.

Fluttershy tried another shout, but alas, her voice is still too weak! Rainbow Dash flew across her face, and started to encircle the Manticore with a multicolored tornado. Still, the Manticore was more than a match for her as it stuck out its crimson scorpion tail, sending and knocking the poor pegasus out cold. The Manticore made another move, and it inhaled a large volume of air.

Max was shocked. "That's not in the scri- I mean-" he realized Twilight might get confused, so he cut his words short.

The Manticore gave a loud, deafening roar which made all the ponies fly back, except Fluttershy. Max curled up his tail strands in a Snake seal. "Mokuton!"

And out came wood from trees that formed a wooden dome, covering Twilight, DJ, Max and Naruto. The latter was in great shock.

"Hey, how are you able to copy Yamato-sensei's technique!? That's impossible! I heard that it is a kekkei genkai…"

"If you know how to merge two nature transformations at the same time, this won't be a problem. Took me like 3 years to master this, though."

"May I ask how did you make your chakra control be at extreme levels?"

"Well, I was asked to water a vast garden using Water Style: Raging Waves, while moving around semi-submerged in the ground using Hidden Mole Jutsu, and playing Flight of the Bumblebee using only the air vibrations made by the Healing Jutsu. By Itachi. I was forced to, if not for that, I wouldn't be making wood clones and you'd be dead by now."

Naruto was like "O_O"

"I know, right? Very hard to master that training."

Twilight cannot relate to what they are discussing. But what surprised her was Max controlling trees. No earth pony can use magic.

"How did you-" DJ shut her mouth with a hoof.

"Shh. Don't tell to the other ponies. The great **plan** unfolds only to your eyes, for now." Twilight gave a faint nod.

Max opened the wooden dome. He jumped out in front and said, "So, wanna play, you cat!?"

The Manticore nodded as a response. Max was somewhat surprised the beast wanted a challenge.

"You asked for it!" as he charged towards danger.

* * *

Can Max and his friends defeat the Manticore? Will Twilight finally be able to know who the three are? Will you say no, yes or no? And who is this author, and what does he do? Tell me what you think in the reviews and stay tuned!


	10. Fluttershy! The Element of Kindness!

**Chapter 10**

**Moar Adventures! :3 – Nightmare Moon, Part II, Part IV – Fluttershy! The element of Kindness!**

**AN: **Sorry for the super delay! Study issues…

* * *

Max formulated a plan only after his legs got online and started to walk towards the Manticore. Naruto watched from behind, helplessly, while Twilight bent a quite elastic piece of wood with her magic, inwards the dome for her to sit and watch safely.

"It's suicide, you sick-minded half-wit!" Naruto yelled.

"_Wait, what? Sick-minded half-wit? Whatever, Naruto Productions, better add it to my insult list…" _Max laughed it off, but it soon changed to a face of anger as soon his eyes received the colors of the Manticore's face.

Max saw in his mind, that the Manticore will crush him with a paw if he kept running. _"Sharingan. An Uchiha's best friend."_

As soon as the Manticore made an attempt to wound the speedy colt, it instead missed, swiping just the air. It stopped, looked around for him. Then, he felt something underneath him. It was Max, and the beast heard confident words.

"Got a little surprise under your tree!" before he vanished. A black can, labeled "Model 7290 Flash Bang", was in the place where Max was seconds ago. The Manticore didn't understand the alphabet, obviously, causing him to tilt his head in confusion. Max was somewhere three meters from the Manticore, and one meter from the dome.

Looking away from the can and into Twiligt and Naruto, he said quite loudly. "Might wanna close your eyes and cover your ears?" he raised his right eyebrow.

Naruto ducked and closed his eyes, covering his ears as if was held hostage, Twilight leaned against the surface of the rim of the opening of the dome, covering her eyes and ears, and Fluttershy, who was flying on the air , closed her eyes and covered her ears whist staying afloat to avoid danger. But Max merely gave a smug.

A bright, white flash was seen and a loud bang was heard at the same time, making a sound quite sharp even to the covered ears. Naruto rose up to see the Manticore stunned. A grin reaped across his face, opposed to Twilight's, which was not too happy about it.

"What the hay are you in to!? What was that, a **magic bomb**!?" Twilight angrily shouted.

"Chillax, I used it to stun the Manticore, that's all." But faster than the speed of light, Twilight's words echoed through his head.

"…_**magic bomb**__!?"_

His eyes widened. _"__**Magic bomb**__…good idea for my next tool…"_

"I want…to…have it! Do you know how many years I've spent, searching for that kind of tool? I found numerous ones, but they have no place for my tool bag! Do you have more!?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"My stock's a-plenty. But I'll remodify it as soon as I can, 'cause it is no joke. You might damage a pony's eyes, or even his or her ears, either deafen or blind one, or even worse, both." Max warned him of the potential of the flash bang, before continuing to entertain the beast.

Twilight watched from afar, or not so afar, while thinking about who really is Max.

"_I can't believe it…an earth pony, casting magic? Pegasi have subtle magic, like walking on clouds. Unicorns cast sophisticated forms of magic, but this…something on a whole new level."_

Rubbing the surface of the brown and perfectly smooth wooden dome with a hoof, an influx of thoughts and ideas in her mind forced her to make possibilities.

"_And this…no record of any unicorn was able to produce life force on magic alone…truly an amazing feat. I wonder if he will cooperate so I can use him as a medium for my researches and other experiments…no, that's not the question, rather, if I can understand the inner workings of his body…"_

Looking back at the fight, Max tirelessly kept the Manticore at bay while Naruto was worried sooner or later, Max would be a pancake.

"_And Max…even as a young stallion, so much potential was developed in him. If what he was saying is true, he sure is harshly trained. But I don't understand, or to be more precise, something contradicts his personality. Royal Guards had undergone brutal training, that's why they are almost emotionless and dull, but opposed to him, he just seemed…happy and contented. I don't understand…maybe it's just an act?"_

"Real tough guy!" he said as he served more kicks to the pain-hungry Manticore. The beast felt very weak from the powerful kicks Max had engraved on its flesh. No matter how many times it tried to catch the Speedy Gonzales, Max always gets away the last second its paw was able to pin him to the ground. Its eyes, red from rage and the strain of finding him and attempts of predicting his next move, shouted "I give up!" Feeling dizzy, it collapsed to rest.

Max jumped backwards, slightly panting. "Ah, I love warm ups."

Naruto made an annoyed face. "That…was your best shot?"

Max smiled. "Who says? That wasn't even a fourth of my strength."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "So…who said that?"

"Itachi-sensei told me that. Dunno about him making a comment on my performance."

Naruto said with a sad voice. "I always wanted to be like you."

Max immediately felt sadness. Turning around to face him, he asked. "Is that so?"

Naruto looked on the ground. "Yeah. I've always felt I was being left behind. Seeing others advance in their performance, I felt being weak."

Max approached Naruto. "Naruto, we all work on different paces because we are two completely different peop-I mean, ponies. Unless we are twins, we can get strong at the same time." Naruto felt more sadness.

"And that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna make you, like me!" Naruto's face lightened up.

"Thanks! Finally! Suck that, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted. Nopony except Max felt the ecstasy he's feeling right now. It was a burst of happiness, with adrenalin rushing through his body that caused him to jump really high, near that of the dome's height.

"Shall we?" as Max gestured to the Manticore.

"First one to knock it out, should extort a free treat from the loser!" Max gave a confident smile.

Dirt jumped out from their hooves as the air shouted into their ears while heading for the beast. But Fluttershy was able to stop the two before any reader of this chapter can finish this sentence.

"WAAAAIT!" Fluttershy's voice made Max and Naruto's ears shiver, causing their legs to stop.

Max broke a sweat, wiping it off. "If we continued, she'd be on the other side."

"How annoying! Get out of the way!" Naruto yelled like a brat.

"Naruto, please. Calm down."

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew, that was too close."

"Twilight!" Applejack's voice rang.

Twilight turned around. There she saw from left to right: Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie in a straight, horizontal line. The former had minimum scratches in her body parts, while Rarity is all clean, with her curly, indigo mane.

"Rainbow Dash!" She jumped down from the dome, landing on her four hooves. "Are you okay?"

Rainbow gave a smile. "Yeah. Earlier, the Manticore got me pretty good."

Applejack's face transitioned from happiness to awe. "Twi…are ya sure you did that?"

Rarity also looked at the dome, observing it carefully. "My, how magnificent! You have a talent for magic!" as she was in a state of awe.

"Good one, but, I'm afraid that's not my work." Twilight sincerely admitted. But seeing there are only two unicorns around here, and Rarity did not created the dome, one can assume that it's really Twilight's work, for they haven't seen any earth pony perform magic.

"Don't be modest, Twilight! Besides, you are the only unicorn who's left around here before I came!" Rarity believed she was hiding her special talent. She hugged Twilight at the neck with one leg, which the latter found it uncomfortable with all the weight leaning on her back, and her right pointed and brushed towards the air.

"Princess Celestia's worthy rival…what do you think?" as she shook her neck a little.

Twilight quickly separated herself from Rarity. "Thanks, but, does it seem to be a little too intimidating? I mean, the nickname bears too much pride." She complained.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, disagreed. "I like awesome names ponies would like to address me, because that is a testament to your skills!"

Rarity nodded with her eyes closed. "Ah, yes. That will gain you respect from everypony."

"By the way, where's Fluttershy?" Applejack realized somepony was missing.

"Ooh, she's over there!" Pinkie pointed to the Manticore. Like a sign, everypony looked at her. To them, something was largely off.

"Pinkie…how…?" Twilight had her mouth agape.

"Good heavens, get down here!" She said with her own, dramatic voice. Pinkie was at the rim of the dome opening, with no pony to guess the process of her going up there.

Twilight gave a sigh of relief, but before finishing that sigh, she saw Fluttershy, with the Manticore's right paw raised up, ready to swipe at Fluttershy, causing her to vacuum all the air around her mouth, taking more air than what she sighed out.

"NO!" was the word Twilight can shout for now.

Fluttershy sniffed at the left paw of the Manticore. There, she smelt the fragrance of soil, with a scent of what it seems to be iron, and something unidentified. The Manticore was surprised to see the yellow Pegasus smiling. Getting the message, it flipped its paw upside down, revealing a dark, blue medium-sized thorn.

"Oh, you poor, poor, little baby." Fluttershycommented on the thorn. The Manticore felt pain as a pulse, momentarily being felt in the paw at irregular intervals.

All the while, Max, Naruto and DJ were so confused beyond comprehension.

"Can somepony please tell me how the buck did that Manticore hide that thorn!?" Max held his head like being crazy.

"Magic." DJ said with a smile, his head leaning slightly towards Max, while he snorted two times.

Rainbow Dash asked. "Little?"

"Now this might hurt for just a second…" as Fluttershy bit into the thorn. It was stuck pretty well on the paw, as the thorn bit tightly into the thick, brown callus of the paw. For a while, the Manticore felt sharp pain for a second, causing it to roar and take Fluttershy in its arms.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight and Applejack shouted in unison.

But, alas! What wonder they saw! Fluttershy was being licked by the Manticore, with the latter emitting small growls of appreciation. Fluttershy's face and mane was being licked by the Manticore.

Fluttershy giggled. "Aw, you're just a little 'ol big kittly, aren't you? Yes, you are…yes, you are!" Twilight and company saw an opening, so they crossed the space between. Twilight decided to stop first and ask Fluttershy.

Fluttershy came in, her mane stiff of saliva, had an ice-cream design. The mixed scent rubbed against Twilight's nose. "How did you know about the thorn?" Twilight asked.

Fluttershy simply replied. "I didn't. Sometimes, we all just need to be shown a little kindness…" as she passed by Twilight.

Twilight looked at the ground, squinting her eyes. After thinking, she can't help but to smile.

"_What is this feeling? I don't know why, but I felt warm…and happy."_

"You know what? Let's leave Twilight." Max's voice rang out while DJ, Naruto and he walked together.

"Wait!" Twilight exclaimed, then she followed.

* * *

The dark blue thorn lay on the ground, lifeless. It immediately collapsed into a dense cloud of smoke, spreading over a small area of land. Nightmare Moon had been psychologically tortured from Max's Tsukuyomi, and from one of the kicks Max served on the Manticore's she physically attached, made her brains feel like being trampled upon.

"Ughhh...I hate you!" she cursed before going into a light-deprived, woody area of the Everfree Forest.


	11. Still, Moar!

**Chapter 11 **

**Still, Moar! – Nightmare Moon, Part II, Part V**

"Why didn't you tell me?" Naruto shouted at Max, while walking along with the trio. He felt the compact ground, making his hooves feel sore from all that walking and jumping. Max was just feeling fine; his hooves already used to traversing any terrain, be it rocky or snowy.

"Like I told you, you didn't ask." Max simply replied. Naruto gave an annoyed sigh, the amount of air breathed out is similar as that of blowing a cake candle.

"Ughh…is there anything more about your plan?" Naruto asked.

"Yep, and that is to ditch **one pony.**" Max's face turned into a relaxed smile.

"Can you tell me?"

"Stay tuned…" Naruto gave an even annoyed sigh.

"The suspense…it's…killing you!" He gave an evil laugh, followed by a quite long silence.

"Remember when we trained with Pervy Sage?" Naruto reminded him of the past.

* * *

The sun boldly showed its morning smile partially behind the mountains. The cool, morning air blows through every house, carrying the scent of water and tree leaves. The grass danced along with the wind, praising Mother Nature for its existence. Sadly, a few were seemingly crushed by the slippers of a wise Sannin.

Jiraiya had his right hand on his back, and the other as a gesture to teach. Max sat on the ground, eyes on the white spike-haired Sannin while ears are listening to every word that emanates from his lips. Naruto stood on a shady tree, arms crossed and his right side leaning on the biological post, smiling.

"You need a good chakra control to pull this off. Ready for the first phase?" Jiraiya immediately grabbed two water balloons, with the color of the skin similar as that of a chameleon, one for Max, and one for himself. Jiraiya held the balloon in one hand. Channeling chakra through the balloon, the water pounded against the rubbery skin from rotation, begging to get out. No sooner, Jiraiya granted the water's wish, making the balloon burst into shreds of rubber skin and tears that anyone can't really scavenge off from.

Max watched the entire time with his Sharingan. Looking at the balloon, he wildly rotated the water with chakra, making the balloon burst faster than Jiraiya would have expected. A shower of water sprinkled over five feet. Naruto got shocked beyond belief, thinking how a ninja can do this more or less than five minutes whilst the technique is hard to master, for it is an achievement to learn the Rasengan.

Looking at Jiraiya, Max's hands still froze like it's holding a balloon, while staring at Jiraiya with lazy eyes, said, "Is that it?"

Jiraiya was shocked beyond belief. Amazing! How did he do that, Jiraiya asked himself. But still, he continued to challenge the young ninja.

"Second phase." He grabbed two, small, white, thick-skinned balloons, gave one to Max. He channeled chakra into the small balloon, making it explode into sound. Max did the same, except, that when it burst, Jiraiya and Naruto felt the wind drummed on their skin, making a sudden, sharp noise as loud as a grenade that could set off the bomb of anyone with heart complications.

"Too easy!" Max boasted.

"_Not again, this time! Max easily pulled that off! How could it be?"_ Naruto got wide eyed. But he still believed that he can't do the third phase easily enough.

"Third and final phase." Jiraiya grabbed another pair of water balloons, and gave one to Max. Jiraiya channeled chakra to the water balloon, spinning in multiple directions. The balloon didn't lean on any side, just purely stationary. Max did the same in no time.

"Now, try it without the balloon." Jiraiya ordered.

Max held his hand out. Closing his eyes, he merged the two earlier techniques, and upon opening his eyes, a Rasengan happily sat on his palm. Bringing closer the orb of chakra, he examined it carefully. He could see solid lines wildly patrolling around the brightly glowing core of the Rasengan. It emitted a faint, bluish-white glow, with his Sharingan on, four faint tornado-like tubes that seem to horizontally rotate around the ball lazily He wondered what power does that technique possessed. Naruto felt a deep sadness, his heart sank down, that made him feel all of a sudden, heavy. He sat down only to stare at the grassy ground, curling and rocking himself, thinking, _"Why am I the only one ever left behind? Everyone has special abilities and all, but why don't I have one?"_

"That was amazing! I can't believe it!" Jiraiya commented on his skill. He approached the young ninja. "Did anyone taught you before me?" he asked.

Max simply responded with a smile. "Itachi-sensei." as he shuddered, but his own mannerism of the said action made him drop the Rasengan, the ball crushing the soil beside his feet, revealing a mini crater, with an earthworm trying to get out of a hole.

Upon hearing these words, Jiraiya's eyes became large as that of an owl. "Him!" He uttered with conviction. "That same ninja who tried to take Naruto!" You could tell Jiraiya would punch Itachi with his eyes and hands.

Naruto suddenly got up and ran to him, overhearing the conversation. "Why are you taking lessons from that jerk!?" He clenched his fists so hard he could crush glass alone, not to mention he doesn't mind the pain.

He glared back at Naruto."Why can't you take lessons from that jerk?" Naruto silenced.

Jiraiya turned to Naruto. "Would you leave us for now?" Naruto walked away without answer.

Back to Max, they both sat down in the grass, feeling the cool air blow.

"How's him?" Jiraiya asked calmly.

"Well, he's fine and all, but he contracted an enigmatic disease. It caused his chakra pool to drop significantly."

"How was he after our most recent clash?"

"Well, he got a little bit fatigued, said you were tough as hell, the best thing that Itachi could do against you was a stalemate."

"How did he train you?"

"Made me learn a shitload of jutsus and improve my chakra control beyond imagination."

Jiraiya touched his own chin. _"I see. As expected from an Uchiha. He learns very quickly, as if eating a piece of cake in one bite."_

Jiraiya stood up. "Alright. Keep practicing more..."

Max quickly stood up, too. "What? It was not even half of what you usually teach!" He complained.

"…with Naruto and me." He gave an annoying smile, which seems to be a trollface.

He gave a sigh. "You troll…"

"Well, then. I'll give you and Naruto 1 hour to prepare." He said as Jiraiya walked away.

Max went to a shady, healthy tree that seemed to stand proudly . There, he saw Naruto leaning beside a tree, furrowed his yellow, slim pair of eyebrows. Naruto managed to catch a glimpse of Max before staring at the air with no focus.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Why does everybody look like they're better than me?" Max expected a burst of anger and a different tone, but Naruto's voice seemed like he's crying. He alleviated the burden of hopelessness from Naruto by placing a hand on his shoulder, somewhat ironic if you ask him.

"Well, that's how the world works, Naruto. No one is identical to another in such a way they progress together at the same time…unless twins, but…almost..." Max gave a "^_^"

"And I thought I understood the world." Naruto was like ";_;"

"But the world doesn't prohibit one to do anything. What I mean is, if I can do it, why can't you?"

Naruto stopped leaning from the tree, facing Naruto, and away from the Sun. He felt the last moments of the bark's roughness a while ago.

"We almost eat the same food. Ramen, red bean paste, chesnut jelly. But even if I eat a lot of fish, and you, eat a lot of ramen, there is no any scientific explanation that you can't do anything what I do!" Max elaborated.

Naruto stared at the ground. He felt like a lot of ideas were compressed in his mind.

"Yeah, you're right. Nobody cares what you eat, drink, or have! What only matters is…the capacity to do it!" Naruto realized this, his eyes gleaming with happiness. He clenched his fist, holding it like he's going for an uppercut.

Max leaned on his right, with a hand on his waist. "So, I hereby challenge you…make new jutsus!"

Naruto faced him. "Oh…it…is…ON!" as they crushed the air with a high-five and ran towards the field.

* * *

"Yeah. Pretty much." Max replied.

Naruto's face lightened up. "Hey, did you notice an earthworm?"

Upon hearing this, Max facehoofed immediately. _"Of all the things that can be noticed, an earthworm, seriously!? *sigh* I really appreciate Naruto's clerical ability."_

"Why, what's the matter?"

"Now look what you did! You made the reader read a whole load of words!" Max complained.

"Well, I trolled you and those who read them."

"How can you break the 4th wall?"

"Well, the author says so." Naruto finished the conversation.

"But anyway, at that time, did you create and discover new jutsus and techniques?" Naruto meant business.

"Yeah. A lot. I discovered a new kekkei genkai…"

Those were the words that reached Twilight's ears, who was walking with the other five. She stared at the source: The trio. She approached them to shed some light on the questions she hadn't asked from Max. As she drew closer to them, she could hear their conversations.

"Sonic Release!? What the heck is that?" Naruto exclaimed, while looking at Max.

"Sonic Release is a Kekkei Genkai which combines two seemingly infusible nature transformations: Wind and Lightning." Max answered. "You only use the word 'release' to state a transformation alone, but not when it comes to uttering jutsu names with transformations, as you have to use the word 'style'."

"What happens now?" Naruto asked what the transformation does.

"By combining the vibrations of electricity, and the carrying ability of the wind, I can produce sound! But that's no ordinary sound! It travels at great speed, with high-frequency vibrations; it can literally shake matter into pieces, because matter is made up of atoms." Max explained with his scientific skills.

"Sounds cool!" Naruto commented. But, his eyes looked up at the sky. "Is it even possible?"

Max smiled. "That's not the question; rather, can you do it?"

"Hey!" Twilight butted in with a smile. "Producing wind? And lightning? That sounds ridiculous!" Her skepticism got the better of her.

"Well, it's made up of energy called chakra." Max corrected her.

"Chakra? What is that?" Twilight asked.

"I'll explain everything when we get home." He promised.

"Alright…" Twilight nodded and agreed.

As Rarity walked, she complained. "Ugh, my eyes need a rest from this icky muck."

* * *

Soon, they found themselves into a place where trees grow rich. It sheltered them from the moonlight, limiting their field of view. As they traversed their tracks, they can feel the ground is getting softer with each step they make, but soft enough to sag against the ground. Nightmare Moon utilized the space between their legs, slithering past them. Naruto felt yet another telltale sign of killing intent. As he stopped, Max and DJ stopped too.

"**She**'s here." Naruto braced himself, only to find himself shivering slightly afterwards.

Rarity took back what she said. "Well, I didn't mean that literally."

Max smiled. _"Oh, I know you do."_

As some ponies argued, Nightmare Moon began her work. She entered a tree, which she now controlled. Then, she shaped the appearance of the tree, making a crater in the middle as the tree's trunk was wide enough to make one. She embossed conical spikes on the rim of the crater, resembling teeth. Finally, she twisted the bark of the tree just above the crater, resembling eyes. After that, she divided her form into parts, seeping inside trees and shaping them into scary faces. Since Applejack took the lead, her hooves got the taste of fine, fresh mud.

"I think I stepped on something." Applejack noted.

Fluttershy screamed in horror. Since she looked at the tree somewhere in front of Applejack, the latter got the wrong impression that the yellow pegasus's scream was on the mud.

"What? It's just mud!" Applejack corrected her. But a tree corrected her. With a horrifying 'face' the tree wore, she jumped back in fright.

Soon, everytime they turn, there is a tree with a scary face. The **five** gathered, with their backs turned at the center, while the trio, was in a line. The trio just smiled. Screams filled the nighttime air.

"Thanks to Yamato-sensei, I am immune to this cheap scare trick!" Naruto laughed off.

But, somewhere in the midst the screaming, laughter was heard.


	12. Ah, The Wait Has Ended!

**Chapter 12 – Ah, The Wait Has Ended! –Nightmare Moon, Part II, Part VI**

**Legend: ♬/ ♫/♪ **** - Singing(Loudest to softest)**

Pinkie stared at the tree. It tried to scare her, but the energetic, pink pony just smiled. She stood in front of the tree, gurning her face, trying to scare the fuck out of it. But the tree remained scary-faced, not even moving a splinter of wood or giving in to her attempts.

"Huh?" The five chorused in a well-understood manner. Why isn't Pinkie afraid, and ridicules the trees? How can they get out of this situation? Many things rang to the young five ponies' minds. Such surprise is worth feeling.

Naruto looked at Pinkie with a smile. He laughed, because who could scare a tree? Max remained quiet, and so is DJ. Seems the two are a tough crowd. But, there is a tree that is somewhat obliquely opposite, and facing at Naruto, so, as soon as he laughed, the tree's face poofed into strong blond yellow-colored sparkles and dust, which the five didn't look at, for their eyes are fixed upon Pinkie. When the fine dust scattered and settled, it revealed the tree again, but what surprise! The tree's scary-looking, or not-so-scary-looking face disappeared! The phenomenon left Naruto scratching his head.

"What? Where is the scary face and stuff?" Naruto asked himself over and over again.

Max managed to set an eye on the transformed tree. Observing its bark, it left no evidence of any reshaping, or any mark or scratches. The reverse transformation was very good, if it was a crime, it was perfect. He began to draw conclusions on his mind.

"Hmm…seems the power of laughter is strong."

DJ looked at Max with eyes of bewilderment. "Ya think?" he hesitatingly asked.

Max stared at him with a teasing smile, his eyes, wide and full of ridicule intention. "No, no! I don't think so! In fact, I have a lot of doubts about it!" He snapped with sarcasm. DJ gave a mock sniff, just to pass off the speechlessness he is in now.

"Pinkie, what are you doing? Run!" Twilight shouted at her, for she thought those trees were danger. She wanted to run, but she can't leave a pony behind, friend or not, lest they can take care of themselves.

Pinkie's hearty laughter didn't fade for a few seconds. When she was done laughing, DJ prepared a banjo. Strands of his tail entangled the body of the chordophone, while the rest pressed on the strings near at the neck. Right after seeing it, Naruto felt he missed something. Something the whole time he was traveling with him.

"Wait, how did you know how to control your tail? Max didn't even teach you! And where did you get that instrument?" Naruto wished to shed some light on the matter. He got his face pleading for answer as he faced DJ to hear his reply.

"Can I explain everything later?" Max's head leaned towards Naruto, hoping that he can give a sign of approval.

Naruto took a step back. "Sure thing." he smiled. "Just make it simple and easy to understand." He finished off with a sigh.

Upon hearing those words, Max replied. "Oh Naruto…" He shook his head lightly. "My explanations are never easy to understand…or so you observed."

Naruto still has one question in his mind. "Why later, not now?"

Max faced Naruto. "I'm going to sing!" he said with a grin.

"As if you know what she is singing." Naruto assured that Max will fail on his act.

* * *

"Oh girls, don't you see?" Pinkie Pie questioned them, before her legs became a biomechanical spring. She bobbed up and down as the sound made by the banjo DJ was playing with synchronized. After a few seconds, the cramped forest area began to lighten up a mite. All the trees were revealed, showing off their thin, twisted long branches that pose as hands, pretending to snatch the ponies as they faced the six in a circle.

♬When I was a little filly, and the sun was going dooown….♬ She sang.

Twilight's ears stood up as it picked up Pinkie's singing. She knew she was singing, but to make sure she doesn't continue, she asked.

"Tell me she's not-" She got close to finishing the question, only to be cut off by Max's singing. Pinkie Pie paused for a little bit, wondering how the gray pony knew all about what she is singing.

♬The darkness and the shadow, they would always make me frooown…♬ Max sang in a perfect voice. Although, what he sang does not describe him.

"They are." Rarity replied with a mix of hopelessness. She didn't make an elaboration because she believes Twilight can get the message.

♬P: I'd hide under my pillow, from what I thought I saw…♬ She pronked around the five, while singing her verse. But upon closer observation, she can still sing very well, even while jumping with four legs. Quite a singer, is she, thought Naruto, who was silenced, and unable to move a muscle by the things he was strongly confused with.

♬M: But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all…♬ Max just stood singing, to maintain voice quality, while tapping the ground lightly with a hoof.

As they picked up what the song conveys about, Rainbow Dash finally asked. "Then what is?"

Pinkie hopped towards Rainbow Dash. Her fluffy, soft, pink hair touched with the latter.

♬She said: "Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall, learn to face your fears"♬

As she sang the verse, her gestures made her cheek touch against Rainbow Dash's right, cyan, soft, and smooth cheek. The latter didn't see it coming, and so, as soon their cheeks lost contact with each other, Rainbow Dash looked at her with an eyebrow raised. Pinkie Pie dashed away, leaving small, pink clouds of dust. Anypony can't sneeze upon sniffing the powdery cloud. Max and Pinkie went to an **infected** tree. The latter, while singing the verse, stood on two hooves, brushing her left hoof in the air by an arc, whilst showing a grin.

♬M & P: "You'll see that they can't hurt you; Just laugh to make them disappear!"♬

Then, Max, along with Pinkie Pie, laughed exactly three times, "Ha, ha, ha!"

And as soon as they stopped, an explosion of dust and sparkles colored the air with pink and gray. A few seconds after, it cleared up, suddenly, the tree's distinct feature vanished! The two grinned towards the five, showing off their white teeth that reflected a small amount of light. Their eyes sparkled, showing how to purify a tree of magic and of fright.

Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack were at loss for words. They couldn't bleed some on the act recently, for they cannot describe what awe and shock they experienced. But, they were still able, although limited, to express their reactions nothing less but a brief inhalation of air, or widely known as a gasp. As Pinkie Pie and Max sang the verses alternatively, the five, along with DJ and Naruto, was being pushed by both in front a tree, making them laugh and purge the tree.

♬P: So…giggle at the ghostly♬

♬M: Guffaw at the grossly♬

♬P: Crack up at the creepy♬

♬M: Whoop it up with the weepy♬

♬P: Chortle at the kooky♬

♬M: Snortle at the spooky♬

Pinkie Pie readied herself for the next verse. It was a fast one, it seemed like a rap. Moving around the environment, behind the tree, hanging in a branch, and inside a tree "mouth", she sang.

♬And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna-♬

With a few ponies hardly able to catch up, and she can understand what she's saying, she cracked up, laughing that it made her shed tears from the corner of her eyes.

♬Laaaaauuuuughhhhh!♬

With that, all the trees from the boscage are purged from Nightmare Moon's magic. They start poofing out, their scary faces vanishing one by one but in rapid succession. The six fell into the ground on their back, laughing loud, while the three tried their hardest not to fall like the Mane six.

* * *

Mayor Mare ran back and forth, one room here, one room there, as her gray and wavy mane and tail swayed. She was in the now deserted town hall, with a tornado that previously and literally fucked up the place. Checking behind curtains and even, closets, wardrobes, going far to the bathroom, she tirelessly hunted for any signs of the Princess that have gone somewhere 30 minutes ago since 4:00am, while avoiding finely-made razor-sharp splinters of wood and glass, not forgetting debris, that lie scattered along the night-cold floor. For nearly fifteen minutes, worry and fear loaded stress on her mind and body, making her feel heavy. Despite all of this, she resumed what she needs to do. After that, she felt even lighter. Looking at the wall clock, which was amazingly unscathed, it's already a quarter to five.

After some running, she accidentally brushed her hoof with the debris, safely pushing it away. Lifting her hoof heavily, she again remembered the battle that took place when Nightmare Moon proclaimed to engulf eternity with night.

_"Those three…who are they?"_ The mayor muttered to herself. But remembering a name they mentioned, it was "Naruto". Judging from how they look, from their clothes, and their faces, she made a guess. A guess that hit the bullseye.

_"Naruto is the yellow one. Well, that's my best guess."_

But before even resuming things again, she stared at blankness to think. _"Well, it's worth it. At least they indirectly patronized us, despite they look like travelers, or tourists. Or are they? But looking at this mess Nightmare Moon made, I need some ponies to clean this up."_

And before she can move a muscle fiber, three, nearly-identical unicorns with uniforms in white appeared on the entrance of the hall, each possessing a different tool in their backs; First, a broom-dustpan combo, the second, brush-small dustpan combo, and the third, has a mop-bucket combo, with a duster. They stood in a triangle formation, and the frontmost unicorn responded ahead.

"Need help with anything?"

Finally, Mayor Mare was able to sigh. "Oh, thank goodness, just in the nick of time! Kindly clean up the town hall, please." said the mayor as she fixed her glasses.

The front unicorn gave a salute. "Will, do, ma'am! It'll be one mean and clean hall! Boys, roll out!" commanded the eager and pumped unicorn as his companions started to levitate the apparatuses and started cleaning up immediately. They vowed to make the mayor more than happy with the services they can give, natch.

As she walked out of the hall, another unicorn stood and waited in front of the face of the hall. She had a white coat, with a corked bottle as a cutie mark. Cobalt blue wavy mane that flowed freely at the sides of her head, with an elegant tail of the same color completed her beauty. Eyes that possessed a light cerulean iris, with short, beautiful eyelashes gazed at Mayor Mare. As for the clothing, she wore a black Cossack hat with a navy blue coat that covered her amazing and enchanting body except the hooves.

"Marceline?" The red unicorn spoke decently, emblazoned with a sweet, female Russian accent.

"Natasha!" The mayor ran for a little bit to hug her old companion.

Natasha smiled warmly. "Good to see you again, my comrade."

Marceline, or what Natasha used to call her, smiled back. "Oh, please. It makes me feel embarrassed. Simply address me as Mayor Mare."

"No matter. I can call you as I like it, Scroll Keeper." Natasha responded, calling the mayor's very first name.

"I guess you're right, Bottle Keeper." The mayor finally agreed.

"Let's take a walk. I'll take you to somepony else." Natasha walked opposite to the town hall.

Although she wanted to know who the pony Natasha is talking about, Marceline followed her command without question. Dislodging the remaining thin coat of stress from the fear of Nightmare Moon's dark plan, she opened up the conversation.

"If you already know, the Summer Sun Celebration is ruined, right?"

Natasha kept her eyes on the road. "Yes. Nightmare Moon broke out from her 10-century moon prison. And since Book Keeper is around in Canterlot, which is my home, she educated me about this so-called "old ponies' tale". Good thing, that when she told me to send a cleaning service team along the way, it was put into good use albeit Nightmare Moon would get out of the hall quickly. Lucky for you, I came."

"And now, everypony is on the same boat." said Mayor Mare with a sad tone.

But then, Natasha's deductive skills took into high gear. "Although, something seems off. Even though Nightmare Moon can choose to obliterate your lovely hall, the chances are slim. Very slim. Imprison her all you want, but she'll get out easily with her powerful magic, with an exception to the moon, of course."

Looking Mayor Mare in the eye, she made an accurate statement. "I suppose there is a reason for the incitation of her fury, no?"

Mayor Mare's eyes widened a bit. "Certainly, there is. Three earth ponies sought out for her in the Everfree Forest..."

"Where ponies dare not go?" Natasha raised a perfect eyebrow.

"Yes." Mayor Mare was more than happy to say that.

Natasha, although believing in the prophecy, still is a little bit too skeptical. She widened her eyes. "Wow." Then, her eyelids dropped a little bit, visually cutting the eye in half, that it almost seemed that Natasha was uninterested, but it's actually the other way around. "Either they are very courageous, or just very foolish."

Marceline looked at the ground. As expected, she would not believe such a thing. She knew Natasha very well, as they were a part of the 6 Great Keepers of Celestia – elite ponies that are dangerously excellent at what they do best – to keep things. Might sound ridiculous for you, but they were coalesced with a reason only known by the group, and the Princess herself. Each of them keeps general items. For Mayor Mare, or Marceline, she found ease and proficiency at keeping scrolls containing letters, speeches, memoirs, conversations, and even sometimes, confidential information from the grand archives of Canterlot. She also knows how to make these things, as she is authorized to check what she receives; nonetheless, she tries her best not to be nosy. Natasha, on the other hand, is a bottle smith. She accepts requests from other ponies, making custom-made bottles. Despite the lack of color and enthusiasm she found on the job, she earned a lot from the number of requests, not to mention the fee was quite expensive for a Canterlot, which is dead exact 3000 bits. Now, she enjoyed the job, and mastered it more to a whole new level.

Back to the situation. Ever since they met, they became the best pair of friends friendship can offer. They never left one another behind, and they can say and share their feelings. Marceline learned a few words from her, as well as how their accents are pronounced. In that way, she is a close friend of Natasha. The latter admitted to be skeptical.

So, Marceline scanned the area for the three guards that were sent by Princess Celestia using her eyes. She squinted, searching for any signs, or even, silhouettes of ponies. There, she saw a triad of guards in a stretcher: Two lay down cold, one, still fighting for his consciousness. Each guard was being tended by two unicorns: a paramedic and a medic.

"You want living proof? Here's your hard, living proof!" said Marceline as she ran towards the group.

"Finally. A lead." said Natasha as she smiled and followed her friend. As she walked towards the group, what a mess they're in! They're trying to resuscitate the two, unconscious pegasi guards. While the middle pegasus, spent his time groaning out of pain and disappointment.

"Living proof, huh?" said Natasha, while eyeing on him. The guard has gray mane, and have a white coat identical to every Pegasi Royal Guard.

The mayor approached the guard. Natasha needs a witness; luckily, the **guard** was still conscious. She came closer, only to recognize the pegasus/colleague she trusted the most. It has gray mane, and identical white coat to the rest of the Pegasi Royal Guard. A gray, unicorn medic tended to his mildly deep wound on his left hoof by swabbing it with a cotton ball soaked in Betadine®…or how did it get there?

The guard opened his eyes. "Ma'am, what do you need?"

The medic that tended his wounds snapped. "Oy! You're still weak! Don't bother offering a lending hoof!" His English accent echoed.

"'tis but a scratch."

"A scratch? You're injured!"

"No, I'm not." The Royal Guard denied.

"But what's that, then?!" The medic pointed to the wound. The pegasus looked and paused for a moment.

"I had worse."

"You liar!"

"Cut it out, you two." Natasha broke off their snapping session. "Is that you, Nexus, the Gate Keeper?"

"Yes, ma'am!" He eagerly replied.

"So…the mayor told me that you have witnessed the battle, yes?" Natasha sucked her lip.

"Well, we three were asked by Princess Celestia to escort the Celebration-" but was cut off by Natasha, raising an eyebrow. Then, Nexus resumed.

"-or whatever that meant. We waited for 15 minutes for everypony to gather at the hall, like doing bodily inspection. When the curtains were lifted, she was absent. We looked at each other, wondering the whereabouts she had gone to. But then, after a while, blue-black smoke formed Nightmare Moon. She gave a speech first, concerning about the years she had been absent since her imprisonment up to this very day. After that, she asked anypony that remembers her. Then, one purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle, the Princess' student, answered her. Then another question was raised. She asked about her intentions. Nopony answered, but there's this **earth pony** that did. After that, the mayor ordered us to engage Nightmare Moon, but she simply swatted us with lightning. I took one on my chest, and I was hurt…a little."

Natasha recalled the important details. "This…**earth pony** you speak of…what did he look like?

Nexus answered. "He looked like somepony forgot to comb his/her hair, but it's neat nonetheless. He wears a jet-black cloak, with red, outline-drawn clouds on the right side. He has a bandana, which he uses to cover one eye. He's gray, and he looked physically fit."

"So…anything strange about him?"

Nexus was being patched up, moments later.

"He had a twin, but it's totally identical! Like their cutie marks…they are of the same design!"

She gasped deeply. "What!?"

"Not only that, those two, and a yellow-haired pony with an orange jacket and a weird-looking cutie mark had no record of their name, age, date of birth, and the place they live in! We only noticed that after either one answered the question, and the yellow plus the clone, or I can't determine, had fought the evil alicorn! The only thing we heard was crashes, glass breakage, and a name called 'Naruto'"

Mayor Mare wanted to keep quiet, but she disclosed an opinion to the two. "I guess Naruto is the yellow one." She shared her thoughts. Natasha let the mayor finish first, after, she drew closer to the guard.

"How did they beat her?"

Nexus provided a detailed description. "They acted so fast, they blur and flicker. They also know how to communicate without saying anything. They would throw in kicks, and energy balls."

Natasha immediately questioned him to see if he's not missing anything. "Wait, did you say, energy balls?"

Nexus took a gulp. "Yes."

Natasha looked at Marceline. "We need to go. Now." Marceline nodded as she ran along with the former. But she realized she needed to say goodbye so she stopped after several steps.

Waving a hoof, she said: "Do svidanya!(Until we meet again!)"

* * *

The clopping of hooves were the only things heard in the street, as everypony were inside of their houses, cowering in fright. For three minutes, the pair have been only hearing their hooves drum against the ground, and seeing nothing but lights that rubbed against the windows, streetlights, and shades of darkness that crammed itself near the cone of lights.

Squinting her eyes to protect it from the blowing wind, she asked her friend.

"Where are we going to, anyway?"

"We are going to visit some old colleauges, mayor." Natasha kept running, never had time to look at the mayor.

"If here I hit right, are they **the pair**?"

"Yes." As soon as her lower set and upper set of teeth kissed after saying the word, a voice was heard. It was so familiar, you can say that you heard it moments ago.

"Heeey! Wait up!" A white pegasus swiftly flew on the air. Natasha recognized him.

"Gate Keeper! What are you doing here!?"

Gate Keeper simply laughed. "To follow you, of course! I decided to accompany you in your journey!" He flew faster until he caught up with the two. The pair slightly separated to make room for Gate Keeper to fly near. The latter slowed down to match their speed.

"Not really a journey, but…I guess you can say is as one. Oh, there it is!" She slowed down, as a sudden drop of speed might launch her forward, tumbling. The trio slowly entered an abandoned, wooden house which was hollow and devoid of inhabitance for nearly 4 months. As they opened the door, the atmosphere greeted them with cold air, flickering white lights, aged, wooden smell, and peace. Walking around slowly, Natasha sounded off.

"Helloo? Anypony here?"

She could hear her echoes bounce off to the walls. Then, a gray unicorn, with a red book for a cutie mark, appeared under a flickering light. She had brown, clean mane that twisted from her right, to the left of her neck. Her tail is arc-shaped, possessing the cleanliness of her mane. She had light brown eyes that looked with the aid of a pair of small, armless spectacles that rested on the bridge of her nose. When she spoke, you could tell she is calm, collected, and meant business.

"Natasha." She nodded. "The mayor, and Gate Keeper is here, yes?"

A green unicorn stood out. He had messy, gray mane and tail, with brown eyes. It had a pink brain for a cutie mark, and wore black glasses.

"Is everypony here, Book Keeper?" The green unicorn asked.

"Yes, Knowledge Keeper. Now, begin the teleportation." She ordered.

"Everypony, form a square around me." ordered Knowledge Keeper as he went to a spacious spot. As they formed a square, they closed their eyes, to prevent having vertigo. The green horn glowed with bright green, as energy engulfed the five, they were sent to a place, as each atom of their body traveled through space and time at extreme speed.

* * *

An energy dome popped out. It regurgitated the five, the energy dome fading almost instantly, like the portal Max went through had vanished into thin air. As Knowledge Keeper looked around, he realized it's not Canterlot. The four also looked around, and upon their closer observation, it was somewhere, a thousand meters from the city.

"What happened, Stephen?!" Book Keeper lashed out at him. The other three kept quiet, as they don't like her when she's angry.

"I guess that's how far I can take you for now, Sonata." Stephen hopelessly said.

"With this situation, how are we going to-wait…" Nexus was finishing his statement, when he saw an object. Even though it was large, they didn't notice it because of the dire situation they're in.

"What do we have here?"

* * *

Announcement: Aw, crap. The symbols are not showing up. It should be notes. :(

Re-announcement: At long last! After experimenting with codes, thinking with the universe, and polishing 3 bags of potato chips, I finally found the solution to make symbols appear! Have fun!


	13. The Bond of Two Shinobi

**Chapter 13 - *Sigh*, Will This Ever End? Not yet! – Nightmare Moon, Part II, Part VII**

"How dark is Ponyville?" Max's repeating clone asked.

"Why do you ask? The ratio of darkness of Canterlot to Ponyville is 2:1. If I can describe it with accuracy, it's like **fifty shades of grey**."

"And Canterlot is **fifty shades darker**!"

"You're right!"

Max's repeating clone that he left behind in the wrecked tree house made yet another repeating clone to summon the **Bullfrog transport**, so that they can be signaled when to gather natural energy. Now, they had all the time in the world, so the clone unpacked its** military backpack-mounted radio transceiver**. The clone stopped somewhere 1000 meters far from Canterlot, so it couldn't cause disturbance. Grabbing the mic, he talked for 30 minutes after he stopped the transport from going any further distances. Although talking to the communication device would be a much, much better way to signal, the clone, we shall name as 'Max', must follow orders from the prime creator, who was talking to him now.

The Bullfrog transport is an APC: **A**rmored **P**ersonal **C**arrier. It has a large green body, with tracks on the back, and wheels on the front, with two pairs of headlights: one in the top, and one near the front wheels, with a pair of grill-shaped glassless monocles for the latter. It has a paint job on the front: Razor-sharp teeth that sledgehammers fear onto the eyes of gazers. "J-41" was painted on the front, and at the back. A red star is painted on the door that is fitted with a small ladder under it, beside the transport. On top, there is a vertical rotation sphere, with horizontal rotation that is being provided by the platform that it sits on, looking at the front. Carrying **23mm** **flak cannons**, it can tear through fuselage, cockpits, and cabbage carts alike. On the back, is a **man cannon**, that can launch a full-grown man across a thousand meters. On the APC's cheeks, the number "2" is painted on either side. Max sat between the two cannons, his head resting on the sphere, and the legs are in V position. As he looked up at the star-glazed sky, he felt the cool air blow on the opening of his cloak, projecting the feeling that there's an air conditioning unit under your cloak.

'The clone's hand that bit the mic got closer to his mouth. He gave a sigh of relief, for it's so invigorating to be lying in a cool, smooth, metal surface.

"So much to see here, eh? The stars that show its radiant smile to me, the brave lights that dare to stand in the middle of dark fear, and…" And at this very moment, he tilted his body to the right, hoping to get a view of the surroundings, but he saw five ponies that stood in a horizontal line. They were looking at the transport, and now, at the clone.

On the other side, Max questioned 'Max'. "What?"

The clone spoke while his eyes are locked on the group. "Five ponies, sir."

* * *

Naruto felt he swallowed fear. It tickled his throat until it sank on his heart heavily. He liked to carry out a plan perfectly, and being that, he hates it ruined. Naruto lashed out at Max quickly, such that what's he's saying made a sound identical to a static buzz on the other side of the conversation.

" Of all the things that can be forgotten, why did you forget to tell him to transform!?"

"Hey, hold your horses…I mean, humans." Max blew some air. "Look, no need to worry. Because 'I', can handle this. Besides, you'll say what you said earlier about forgetting every time I forgot something." Max gave a reassuring smile.

Naruto pushed his lips up. "I hope you are very sure about that." Then, he kept a disappointed face.

Max, then speaking to his earpiece, ordered him with some instructions to follow. "Confront those ponies. They might be lost, or something."

* * *

Now, 'Max' had his feet contorting from the cold wind, and anxiety, too. He was worried about himself forgetting to change his own physical form. Hanging up the mic, he got off the transport, and acted relaxed. As they approached the transport, he donned a smile.

Then, he spoke with a male, Russian accent audible to the five. "Bullfrog transport, openforbusiness!" And he sped up halfway through his statement out of nervousness. "Where do you like to go?"

The Royal Guard's eyes widened. He had a feeling that he had seen that face before. He kept his mouth shut, humming the happiest tune he knew, but as each pause was made, he swallowed spit to prevent himself from screaming. The Mayor, however, squinted, only to have it wide open again. Perhaps she recognized the overall appearance of the entity? Yes, she recognized him. He was the one with two companions who fought Nightmare Moon in the town hall. But no, the hero's quite tall! It has hands! And he seems to know about the incident when he spoke.

"Hey, mayor! Good to see you! How was everything, huh? Like how she was beaten?" 'Max' spoke in a normal way, while waving a hand to signal her.

Recognizing the face, the hairstyle, the clothing with clouds wrapped around him, plus the way he smiled, she stopped. She informed the other four by pointing a hoof on him, then saying what she thought about 'Max'.

"T-that's him! He's the one who fought Nightmare Moon!"

All four looked on her.

"Are you sure?" Sonata tilted her head.

Nexus stopped humming, settled his fear, and looked at the figure for one more time. Analyzing and verifying his appearance, he answered for the mayor.

"Yeah, but it's not a pony!" he exclaimed. As soon that was heard, all five argued with no audibility.

'Max' doesn't want to waste their time. He broke up the conversation by answering the first question.

"You're finding for the one who helped injure **that mare**? Yeah, I am **that one**."

Everypony stopped arguing and stared at 'Max'. They fell in deep silence and wonder as they thought for a possibility which is seemingly not. Nexus stepped in and responded before any of the other four did.

"You!" 'Max's eyes became wide.

Nexus grabbed a sword that was cleverly hidden underneath his wings.

"You are a spy! What are you doing in this place!?" he said as he rushed towards 'Max' with ferocity. The latter wondered about his nervous time earlier.

"Oh well. Guess that was a façade. And what a great logic. Killing a hero?" He stood still and activated his Sharingan, waiting for the attack to come near him. Then, as Nexus was one swing close to him, he disarmed the sword from Nexus' mouth by a kick, and reverse-grabbing it by the hilt with his right hand, he kicked Nexus' face to the left, only to grab his neck by the left arm, and place the sword on the pegasus' left side while kneeling, all of this, happening in one swift move. Now, he was headlocking the pegasus, with a sword that kissed his neck with fatal warning. The other four were too shocked and demoralized, they stood still for a moment. 'Max' talked to Nexus' ear.

"If you want to kill me, try harder next time." Then, he let go of Nexus, dropping the sword along with him.

"How…did…" Sonata usually keeps a strong, calm demeanor, but she was out of words, for this moment.

"He's so fast, I didn't see it!" Natasha reacted after Sonata did. Ah, that sweet, Russian accent.

'Max' placed his hands on his waist. "Didn't you know that I am a trusted person, approved by the Princess?"

He then grabbed on his pocket, and reaching out a badge, with a yellow sun having white wings. As soon as Nexus saw the badge, he bowed down quickly before him.

"I-I'm sorry, sir. I thought you were a threat." He quickly apologized.

"_Hmm…guess the __**information**__ is top-secret, even to Royal Guards. Maybe he's not any of the guards that fought Sauron?"_

"Nah, it's okay. Besides, everypony thought I was a spy." He smiled.

Sonata approached the clone. Eyeing on every detail, she examined the clothing, the eyes. When she saw the two balls of red, she asked the young man.

"What on earth is that?"

"This?" He gestured to touch the skin near his right eye with two fingers. "It's called, the Sharingan. Or 'copy wheel eye.'"

Stephen stepped forward a little bit. "What does it do?"

'Max' smiled. "This?…oh, if you know what this does, you will beg for me for extracting one!"

"So let's get to the point. Are you saying that your eyes are very special? What I mean is, does it contain some kind of power?" The brown unicorn raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yes! Lots and lots of power, all crammed in one eye." His tone was so convincing to the listeners.

The mayor walked towards 'Max'. "Well, alright. What does it do?" Nexus and the other four sat with Mayor on the ground.

'Max' deactivated his left Sharingan, and kept his right one lit. "Alright, first, let's get down to the basics." He rotated his Sharingan to his right, until two marks have faded and one mark was left.

"First stage. This, is the early stage. In this stage, I can see through chakra, or bioenergy, they say. In this stage, too, I can see through magic-infused objects, and differentiate magic from ponies, much like I can do with chakra. Not only that, I can copy new techniques!"

Spinning his Sharingan, he gained two marks.

"Second stage, the middle stage. In this state, I gain an incredible clarity of perception, such as tracking high-speed objects or movements. Lip movements? I can read what you're saying!"

Sonata smiled. _"Now that's…a useful ability. I wonder if I can read what ponies are talking about in the library?"_

"Third and final stage. In this stage, the Sharingan is fully matured. I can now predict what you will do several seconds ahead of what you're doing now! Like a positive reaction!"

"WOW!" All five chorused.

"And it also allows me to inflict an illusion by just eye contact. I can make a pony be knocked out, put to sleep, or even, spill the beans! Plus, it allows me to read your mind!"

Nexus' ears and wings sprang up. "Incredibly useful!"

'Max' then deactivated his Sharingan. "So…now…"

Sonata's face lightened up. "I wanna have it!"

"Ditto…yes..uh-huh…" the five murmured to each other as they agreed on the brown unicorn's statement.

'Max' waved two hands at them ,. "Hey, uh, were you lost?"

"Yes, as you see, I'm out of magic power to use. Perhaps we can use your transport?" Stephen requested for aid.

"Yes. Certainly, you can. Come, follow me." He said as he opened the door, climbing a small ladder that was attached to the rim of the door. The five went up the transport.

* * *

Max smiled out of happiness as he kept his earpiece at once.

"Well, that takes care of things." He said in a relaxing voice.

"So tell me, how did you create so much jutsus?" Naruto randomly questioned Max.

"Simple. Hard work, perseverance, and prayer. Duh, it's my hobby, don't you know?" He felt stopping first to chat with his yellow pal after the six proceeded to travel as he knew that they can catch up with the six.

"Speaking of jutsus, I like the infinite repeating clone. So awesome!" Naruto felt jumping upwards as high as his legs can take him.

Max knew Naruto is very excited about the technique. But, to avoid confusion, and tons of decibels ringing inside his ears from Naruto's shouting, he revealed and explained the flaw.

"You know…there's a counter for that." Max grinned secretly.

Suddenly, Naruto straightened up his posture and listened to Max. "What?"

"If the clone disperses too much in a short amount of time, because the clone has an instant-replace system, that clone completely disperses. It takes **ten clones per second** to dispel one. So, the best way is, to damage the clone using chronic damage, like the fireball's afterburn."

"Oh, I get it. Thanks for informing me." Naruto felt his heart sank, somehow similar to the time when 'Max' was about to be discovered, but heavier.

"Oh, don't fret. There is no such thing as a 'perfect jutsu', or there might be. There will be always flaws on every technique; we just need to improve it. If it's discovered, it's labeled forbidden, either for chakra or life purposes."

Naruto straightened up again, like he's energetic, or just had lots of sleep hours. Max didn't know what the hell is going on with him.

"Oh, by the way, I don't think Twilight's gonna like the idea of waiting for us slugs." Naruto shifted his head towards Max.

"No worries, mate. Twilight nodded to the idea of us, staying back here for a little bit." He shut his right eye, and looked to the ground.

Naruto was extracting answers from Max as soon as possible so that he'll not look stupid when he is being trained by the latter.

"Have you tried forming another version of Rasengan?"

"Yes!" Max's head sprang up, opened his eyes, and sparkled it at Naruto's.

"Dammit! I'm behind schedule!" Naruto felt burning blame consume his confidence, while he chewed his lip in rage.

"Like, combining **Giant Rasengan** with **Rasenshuriken**? Yeah, but…" His energetic tone turned into a depressed one.

"…but what?" Naruto looked at him in the eye.

"Its power is too destructive." He kept looking at the ground. "In fact, it can scar the earth effortlessly."

"But, nonetheless!" Max smiled back to Naruto. "I have created a ridiculously essential technique!"

"What is that?"

"The **Healing Rasengan**!"

As soon as he finished "Rasengan", DJ mimicked the climax of a corny joke.

"Ba-dum tss!"

Naruto dropped his eyelids. "Okay…"

"I came up and created that jutsu **before the Chunin Exams**."

"Yeah, righ-what!?" Naruto was too vulnerable to interrobangs.

"That means Kakashi taught me that amazing jutsu way earlier than the training Jiraiya gave us."

"UGGHHHH! You surpassed me!" Naruto groaned in utter disappointment. "So that's why you easily completed all those phases!"

"Yeah. Sorry to break it to you, but I found no difference in the difficulty of what you said to my first time creating one."

"Ah, that's okay. Who am I kidding? You already surpassed me in every way." Naruto faced away dramatically from Max.

"Aw, don't that beat all. C'mon, you even beat me in the creation of Rasenshuriken."

"Well, I guess so." He gave a giggle accompanied by a grin.

"Let's go. We spent enough time here." He said, as he jumped up in a tree and traveled.

* * *

The sound of violent churning water filled the previously quiet night. The six encountered an effeminate purple water serpent with orange hair and moustache, plus yellow for highlights. The dragon related the problem to them, and found out that one of his finely-curled moustaches, in the right, was cut violently by an **unknown entity**.

"Why, how can you be so insensitive? Rarity asked as she walked to the head of the water serpent, who was now flailing his body and tail underwater out of grief. At the same time, Max, Naruto, and DJ jumped off a tree, landing just behind the group.

"Yeah. Everypony doesn't want to have their looks shabby." The sudden voice pop-up almost startled everpony, making them look behind.

"Thank goodness, you're here!" Twilight smiled when she turned her head to her back.

"Such lovely luminescent scales!" Rarity gave words of appreciation.

The serpent sniffed. "I know!" while keeping a sad face.

"And your expertly coiffed mane!" The serpent looked up, and laying an elbow on the ground, and clenching his right fist, he said: "I know, I know!" as he ran his palm through his mane. Looks like the two are enjoying together.

"Your fabulous manicure!" Rarity kept adding more words. Well, let's hope she doesn't overuse it.

The serpent was caught off-guard, causing him to gasp. "It's so truuuuue!" as he squeezed his cheeks.

"All ruined without your beautiful moustache!" Rarity knew how the consistency of overall beauty is seen and appreciated.

"It's true, I'm hideous!" He flicked his head up, as if Manny Pacquiao did an uppercut on his skull. Then, his forearms and hands covered his forehead.

"I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!" She squinted, and proceeded to bite a scale from the finger of the serpent. By the way, when did a serpent have hands and arms? :O

With that, the serpent gave a yelp. "OOW! What did you do that for?" as he shed a tear. Rarity didn't speak, and raising the sharp-edged scale, she did what was horrible on the serpent's eyes.

"Rarity, what are you-" Kwa-shinggg! Oh, it was horrible! The serpent can't stand the sight of her cutting something so vital to her appearance! He fainted to the ground, only to make a large thud.

"What!? He can't stand the sight of cutting a frickin' tail!?" Naruto jawdropped from what he saw.

"Well, sometimes, it's up to how they stomach the emotions, Naruto." Max replied.

Rarity kept biting on the scale for a moment, and then threw it on a direction she never has looked in to. Max saw the scale flying to get a slice of his bone, so he jumped up in good timing, while Naruto, upon the sight of the scale slicing towards the thin topsoil, was so shocked, he felt his heart beat hard once. Rarity then lifted her incised tail with magic, wrapping it up to the missing moustache. The serpent woke up a moment later, only to see a slightly-different-but-acceptable moustache fixed on his face. He straightened up out of joy.

"Ohohohohooo! My moustache! How wonderful." As soon as he finished those words, he posed as if a superstar was posing for paparazzi.

"You look smashing!" She left a compliment on his ear. Rarity and the serpent was happy, except for some ponies. Somehow, after hearing what Rarity said, Max smiled as he thought of a father with a big nose and a long moustache. Twilight approached Rarity from behind, saying:

"Oh, Rarity! Your beautiful tail!" She looked at the white unicorn with eyes that shouts sadness.

Rarity turned around and faced her. "Oh, it's fine, my dear! Short tails are in the season. Besides, it'll grow back." She looked at her tail.

Twilight smiled. But she felt the feeling before. The feeling of that warm, soothing, and happy , oh wait, Rainbow Dash leaned quite on Twilight.

"So is the moustache!" Rainbow Dash whispered. Ah, yes, Twilight smiled back, and seeing the serpent was gone, so is the water maelstrom.

Twilight started running towards the other side of the river. The water was slowing her, but she kept running.

"We can cross now! Let's go!" But the serpent underneath segmented his body by curving it, and raising it above the calm river faster than the trio can say "Oh, shit!"

"Allow me!" The serpent generously offered a helping hoof. He tucked his head on the river clay bed, then the six ponies jumped from the serpent's body, one by one.

* * *

Whistling wind blew into the ears of the figure. He treaded the green-rich grassland, crushing any grass that he stepped on. Holding his katana at the hilt, he walked slowly but surely towards a tree stump. Sitting on it, he reached for his pocket hidden beneath the Akatsuki cloak. He viewed the photos, smiling as each passing photo was flashed before his eyes. One photo contained of him, with Max, making a "V" on the figure's head.

"Max, my man. Where have you been?" He said. "Only one way to find out." Waving five hand seals, he disappeared in a smoke puff.

* * *

"Well, it's hell time we walk on water." Max declared.

"But can't we just use those curves?" Naruto pointed at the serpent.

"Are you too paranoid? It just takes a minimum amount chakra to walk on water."

"I want to savor every bit of chakra that I have so that I can defeat her."

A puff of smoke was seen at the right side of Max. It wore an Akatsuki cloak, with eyes that spell happiness. With drooping spiky hair, he was frozen for a split second, his hands locked up in a Ram seal.

"Sasuke! Good to see you!" Max smiled. "This couldn't get any better, could it?"

"Same with you, Max. Lookin' good with your transformation!" Sasuke complimented.

"Who's your-" He was going to finish, but he sighted the yellow pony. A shift of happy aura to a gloomy one was felt by Naruto. Sasuke stared at his eyes, his eyes of longing pain and sadness deep in his heart. Naruto wanted to move, but he can't. He felt being locked up in a genjutsu.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered into himself.

"It's been a long time…Naruto…"


	14. A Change of Heart(New Year's Special)

**Chapter 14**

**A Change of Heart + The Fight Of The Good Versus Evil!**

**Nightmare Moon, Part II, Part VIII + Nightmare Moon, Part II, Part IX, 2013 Special**

"How's it going, bros?" Sasuke's face lightened up again.

"PewDiePie. You've watched it, haven't you?" Max smiled.

"What!?" Bam! Another interrobang for Naruto.

"I'm okay." DJ answered with simplicity.

Sasuke then waved a hand seal. He then was covered in a cloud of smoke decent in thickness, as the jutsu normally does to cover the transformation. Then, out came a pony with a cobalt blue coat, with drooping hair spikes. It has the Uchiha clan symbol as a cutie mark, covered behind the Akatsuki cloak's red inner fabric.

Sasuke then asked them. "Do I look dashing?"

"Absolutely!" Max cheered.

But then, after a few seconds, the water serpent looked at his watch.

"Ohohoooo! I'm late for my appointment" He yelped and yanked his moustache. Upon seeing this, Max gnashed his teeth in fear of the moustache ripping dirtily from his face.

"A-alright! I'll help you right away!" Max stepped on the calm, cold river. Before he was about to send the serpent back on his track, Max asked one question.

"What is your name?"

Putting a hand on his chest, he said quite confidently: "My name is **Leo**."

Max giggled at the sound of hearing this, but the serpent didn't ask him about the reason anyway. He lifted his headband, revealing the Sharingan. Spinning the magatama seals to the right, he then shouted.

"Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!"

A non-sucking water whirlpool formed beneath of where he stood on. Then, a jet of water curved itself in front of Max, starting from the left front hoof to the right front hoof continuously, like an animal pulling its own tail. Then, it extended forward while drawing in more water from the river, making a twisting force that hit the serpent in the chest while sending him away.

"Thank you!" Leo gave a wave of hand before he vanished into the horizon.

"Well, that takes care of things." Max gave a breath that invigorated him, before turning his head on the other side of the river, sighting a bewildered Twilight.

"You can stand on water!? And control it!?" Twilight gasped.

"Why not? It's not like I can't do it." He ended.

"I mean, how…" Twilight suddenly ran out of words.

"Magic control?" Max tried to guess what's she thinking.

"Yeah! Maybe high-level unicorns can only do it!"

"_Guess that explains it. Controlling chakra without hand seals for other ninjas is like driving with no hands. No wonder it takes some time for unicorns to cast magic. Mine, however… I wonder if their horns act as a one, big chakra point?"_

"Alright, you three. Move out!" ordered Max as he stepped out of the river and joined Twilight while closing his bandana, hoping Twilight didn't see his Sharingan.

"Can you breathe fire, too?" Twilight asked.

"Pretty much, but hotter than Spike does."

"Well, it's not like Spike can breathe fire that hot." She smiled.

"Sasuke…" Naruto can't say anything but the ninja's name.

"What's the matter, Naruto?" Sasuke gave a very warm and welcoming smile.

"You're…kind…so close to the Sasuke I knew back then..." Naruto became overwhelmed with feelings of happiness and nostalgia, despite the great strife that damaged the bond of Sasuke to Naruto but not Naruto to Sasuke, mixing all together and creating a feeling he can't fight, he can't hold back his tears.

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry for what I've said and done. Throw some of your burden to me, and we'll fix the lost bonds between us, together. What do you say?"

Naruto doesn't want to do it, but he's forced to. He jumped on Sasuke, and gave him a tight hug. His crying made a quite wet part of Sasuke's cloak. All the while, Twilight was observing the two.

"What's with those two?" Twilight asked.

"Well, they've been separated for like, three years. The reason Sasuke had left Naruto because his own older brother wanted to make him strong by severing the bond between those two, so then the younger one can kill his brother."

Twilight widened her eyes. "Is what I heard is correct? The blue one wanted to kill his big brother?"

"You see, Sasuke's clan and my clan are the same. Our clan was known for having powerful chakra, the extensive use of Fire-based techniques, and primarily, our **eyes**."

"Eyes?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Eyes, yes. The eyes contain hidden power. The power is so great, if combined with the chakra, and techniques, it can make the clan more than a threat to a village that it resides in."

"What's the name, anyway?"

"**Uchiha.**"

"The Uchiha clan?"

Now, at this point, Max wanted to smash his head into the ground, because Twilight repeats everything he says with a question. But he continued on, anyway.

"Coming from the Japonese word, uchiwa, which means 'non-bending fan', it symbolizes the clan's greatest love of fire, made hotter by an uchiwa. Back to the point. Itachi, my uncle, was a…er…pony, blessed with incredible talent, so much that his abilites surpassed of any normal pony. He was tasked to kill his own clan, even his parents, save for a few…and his brother. He had no choice but to wipe out his clan so that his brother, and the village would experience peace and elude war."

"That's inconceivable! He never showed love for anypony!"

"If he was cold-blooded as that, why did he spare my mother and her parents, who was secretly a friend of Itachi, and his brother? Did he felt lazy after killing a ton of ponies and left the two?" He laughed.

"Hmm…I want to know more about this Itachi pony." Twilight looked down on the ground.

"Oh, yes, he was quite hard to take down. He raised me up-"

"He raised you up!?" Twilight snapped.

"If he didn't, you'd be panicking now. After all, who's gonna protect Equestria from harm?"

* * *

As Itachi was reading papers, Max, with his cloak on him, approached his uncle.

"Itachi, I realized something."

Itachi looked at his youthful face. Something similar to that main character in Monster Hunter Orage.

"What is it?"

"That my abilities are not just to protect myself in school. It's also essential to the safety of Konoha."

Itachi smiled genuinely. "Wow, Max. You're so bright!" Max replied with a smiley face, similar to that Asian emoticon by pressing Shift + 6, underscore, and Shift + 6 again.

"_Look at him go. That must be me, without being a fugitive, without bearing the burden of guilt, and without this disease."_

Meanwhile, an Akatsuki approached the two, It was tall, and had black hair. With shark-blue skin and a large muscular build, he looked very strong with that extra heavy sword he carries in his back.

"What's our score again?" Kisame asked.

Itachi looked at him. "3-1 on Max-Kisame. Max and I are 2-2."

Kisame gave a smile. "Hmm. Pretty good for a young ninja like you." Then, his smile became a grin.

Itachi gestured his hand to draw Max closer. Then, he rubbed his hand on the boy's hair. "That's my boy. I heard he's promoted to jonin because something happened…"

* * *

How many years have passed since the Third Hokage set foot on the vast ocean of trees the First Hokage created?

"You know, it's been a pretty long time that I haven't got outside of this village because I'm busy doing paper work." Hiruzen confessed while chewing the end of the pipe.

A ninja with combed down spiky hair on the Third's right smiled. "It's quite hard to find some free time, right? Especially in your age and at your position." Izumo then looked to the right to observe some plants and leaves.

Kotetsu replied. "Nah, you could always just escape and not do paperwork!" He smiled wider than his partner.

"Because you're too lazy!" Izumo shouted.

"Because you're too busy!" Kotetsu snapped back.

"You are wrong! Living life serious is boring!" Kotetsu continued.

"No, you are wrong! Living life without worrying any problem is too mainstream!" Izumo snapped.

Hiruzen laughed and smiled. Taking off the pipe form his mouth, he spoke. "Now, now, you shouldn't correct someone's beliefs. Instead, believe in yourselves and fight for what you believe is right, because in the end, only you, alone, can judge your own deeds, no one else."

"Alright, agreed." The two chorused.

Then, with no warning, a flurry of shuriken and kunai stuck to the ground surrounding the three with little effort. The two ninjas brought out their kunai blades, while the Third kept his pipe.

"Show yourselves!" Izumo shouted.

Laughs were heard from the trees as the two sweated, knowing they're surrounded. Then, one spoke out loud.

"We came here to assassinate the Third Hokage, arrogant sons of the Leaf!" shouted one with utter confidence.

"As if you can do it!" An unknown voice shouted. The three were surprised to see a kid just behind the circle of ninjas on trees-at the age of seven, to shout strongly at them. It has a Sharingan staring at somewhere near the foliage of trees with eyes that spell anger. Upon sight, Hiruzen saw a flash of a ninja whom he trusted, who had that look on his eyes, and was gone for a long time.

"_I…Itachi?"_

But Max looked too young, as a result, louder laughs were heard.

"Are you kidding? You're just a kid! You can't beat us!" The same voice shouted.

"Really?" Max gave a smirk, because then again, no ninja can't be too young. Then, grabbing a kunai, he threw it at a ninja, at the fastest speed possible. Then, one shinobi dropped down dead. It was wearing white clothes, with a bandana that tells the ninja was from the village hidden in the clouds.

Every ninja gasped in horror as the dead ninja lay down lifelessly with a kunai in his chest.

"Attack them!" Ordered one. Another flurry of shuriken and kunai were sent flying at the three. Max sprang into action as he pushed the three out of the way. Taking two handfuls of kunai and shuriken, he threw the kunai first on tree trunks, then throwing shuriken on the hilts of kunai, making the star-shaped blades bounce off. A set of dead jonin fell on to the ground. It was so many, it felt like massacre already. The ninjas decided to go down from the trees and fight Max with taijutsu first, before using ninjutsu on the Hokage. Running up at a ninja, Max kicked one in the chest, and flipping upside down, Max threw a kunai that killed the shinobi, then rotated and unfurled a fuma shuriken. He charged it with wind chakra, and then threw it on the long line of jonin. It cut effortlessly through skin, flesh, and bone, spraying blood everywhere, and then finally stopping at the ground, with half of it sunken into soil. Two ninjas were left, looking shocked and scared.

"We lost too many **jonin**! Retreat!" And without hesitation, they fled as fast as their legs could carry them.

Max didn't even pant, instead, he felt normal. Looking at the two running, he said: "They're all jonin, huh? What a shame."

"Wow…" Izumo sighed.

"Unbelievable…" Kotetsu felt like helpless.

"Amazing that a genin was able to defeat many jonin!" The Third brought out his pipe again.

"Well, they're out to kill you, anyway. Why hesitate to protect?"

"Well, seeing you are a legend to begin with, I shouldn't let you stay as a genin, because it's too unfitting of your abilities. I am going to use this method if I or any Kage personally witnessed a ninja with such skills. This is the first time I have to use this new method. You will carry on this kind method, and I will make you a **jonin** **commando** when the time comes. So for now, I hereby promote you to…jonin."

"What!?" It seems unfair to the duo, who were only chunin. And he didn't get a proper test/process, for ninjas need to undergo tests to prove their title and rank.

"Well, if you could pull off something like that in front of my eyes, I might change my mind about your rank as a shinobi." Hiruzen smiled, as he tipped his soft, white fabric sakkat hat to Max, which the latter nodded.

* * *

"A jonin? That's crazy!" Kisame scratched his head.

"If I should be careful of you, you should be careful of him."

Kisame still smiled. "Heh, a cycle, huh?"

But Max didn't like leaving some traces of superiority over them. "Hey, even one ninja outsmarted me!"

"Really? Who is that, then?" Itachi eagerly asked.

"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Surprising! The Fourth's son!" Itachi shouted.

Kisame crouched down to match his height. "How old is he?"

"Just as my age."

Kisame stood up again, blowing a bit of air. "What was he like?"

"He likes to pull pranks on people."

"So that's how he got that smart." Itachi smiled.

"_From what I heard, Naruto is a mischievous child; the result of being shunned by society; the result of being a jinchuriki. He had trouble using the clone jutsu, but able to produce shadow clones. Oh, the irony!"_

* * *

Of course, Max didn't forget to ponify words while he was telling the story to Twilight.

"Jonin?" Twilight asked.

"Well, think of a Royal Guard. I believe that rank matches the jonin rank."

"And how 'bout a **commando**? What does a commando do? And how does a commando differ from a commander? Did you pretend to be a genin in the Chunin exams?" Naruto suddenly raised a question. By looking at his eyes, you know Naruto is done crying.

"Well, a jonin commando is a jonin that can give orders, and oversees the work of jonin. Yes, and no, Naruto. I only managed the Chunin Exams and secretly witness your performance."

"So it's impossible to say that a commando is different from a commander." Sasuke concluded.

Max took a breath, and then he exhaled. "Not exactly, no. A commander, like Shikaku Nara, that father of Shikamaru, is a pony that gives orders and commands while **outside the battlefield**. A commando like me is a pony that gives orders and commands while **inside the battlefield while fighting.** Should either be absent, the commander can take the place of the commando and vice versa as such. Also, the commando is a specially trained pony, perfect for carrying out raids, ambushes, rescue missions, you name it! At rare cases, the commando can finish an S-rank mission alone, or even be a one-stallion army, if that happens."

"Wow, I like your extensive knowledge of being in a military unit!" Twilight can't help but to grin. But, looking at her friends in front of them, she ran towards the bridge, shouting words that say "Rainbow Dash", and "Don't listen to them!"

"Well, let's see what that commotion is over there!" Sasuke sighted and pointed at the four, with one missing. They've looked at the bridge that has been halved by unknown force. What's even worse, the fog's covering most of the line of sight. The fog's so thick; sound is muffled by the thick layers of condensed water vapor, so shouting is a waste of effort.

Max walked close to Twilight, and stretched out his left frontal leg to prevent Twilight into rushing at the bridge. Twilight fought his leg, but her efforts are in vain.

"No! She can do it!" Max said to Twilight.

"No! She can't! I shouldn't have-"

"Have what? Brought us all here? Then how come you had reached this far?"

Twilight gasped in horror. Perhaps she was too reckless in her words. He made her smile by giving her one.

"Never underestimate your friends. They might look unfitting, goofy and all, but then again, you don't judge a book by its cover. There's more to Rainbow Dash than you think."

So all of them sat on the ground, waiting for Rainbow Dash to come out. Then, after a few seconds, Rainbow Dash came sweeping the fog on the bridge. Everypony cheered for her.

"Good job, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight gave a compliment. Rainbow Dash flew low, and replied.

"See? I'd never leave my friends hanging!"

Then again, she felt it for the fifth time already. Man, those times are good times!

"But who walks on hanging bridges?" Max shouted. He jumped on one stone peg, then jumped on the opposite peg. Three ponies followed. Guess who.

"What in tarnation!? How did ya jump so far like that?" Applejack asked.

Max turned back, and replied to her. "Well, we practiced jumping from tree to tree. Kinda easy, you know."

Applejack carefully made her way out of the hanging bridge. Finally reaching the other side, she said: "Jumping on trees? Ah tried once, it was awful!"

DJ gave a laugh. "Well, you know, our village is hidden in the leaves…quite literally."

Twilight was walking in the bridge, and finally reaching the other side too, she asked what she can't ask while she's on the bridge.

"Literally?"

Naruto spoke out. "Our village is covered by a ring of super thick forest, so thick that it takes us three full days of tree jumping to reach the border!"

Twilight smiled greatly. "That's crazy!"

"I know, right? I hate to be the gardener of that forest!" Naruto gave a smirk.

"Although, somepony wants those trees to be apple trees…" DJ gave Applejack a soft nudge.

They continued on the ruins. They saw it was once a magnificent castle, but now, it stands out deserted. Vines hugged the timeworn pillars. The roof is missing, leaving jagged edges on the wall. As Max took a step, he can feel the grime stick to his hoof. Naruto observed some corners and found cobwebs and overgrown plants. Some shards of broken glass were seen near at windows with missing pieces of glass, ready to injure the hooves of any pony who dared to step on it, if there were any, however. But the most prominent feature is the peg that holds **six** concrete orbs etched with distinctive polygon symbols, topped with a large marble orb. The five lined up horizontally in front of the large peg, while Twilight was behind the line. The four sighed upon the peg.

"Whoaaa…" Twilight was enlightened about the age of the orbs. God only knows how old are those heavy balls of smooth concrete.

"Come on, Twilight! Isn't this what you've been waitin' for?" Applejack said to Twilight. The latter walked on the narrow space between Rainbow Dash and Rarity, while the two made way for the Princess' student.

"The Elements of Harmony! We found them!" Twilight exclaimed, while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy worked on the orbs. The four rushed to look at the rear of the peg. Looking on the sixth orb, Max said:

"You know, if you rewatched this episode, at the thirteen minute mark, you'll see that there are six, but when the two pegasi are done hauling them, the sixth suddenly disappears!" Max looked at Naruto, DJ, and Sasuke. Then, he looked up again, seeing the sixth orb vanish into thin air.

"See?" Max pointed out a hoof.

Sasuke suddenly had realized something. "Well, that's why they call the sixth, a mystery!" He shared a good laugh with them, and walked slowly out of the rear side of the peg. Meanwhile, Twilight lay down in her hooves to focus making that so-called 'spark'.

"Well, how did you get so strong, Max? It almost seemed that everyone in Konoha looked up to you!" Naruto gladly asked.

Max brushed his right hoof on the ground, and answered. "According to Malcom Gladwell, you need to dedicate 10,000 hours of doing what you like to do best to be successful. I did, starting from the age of 7 and ended with it."

Sasuke noticed something. "Hey, doesn't that seem odd? I mean, 10,000 hours within a year? That's too fast!" He pointed out.

Max laughed, and replied happily. "Who needs years when you can have shadow clones for one month?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto's face lightened up, knowing that he can relate to what Max said.

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed. "Also, I heard about you being called 'Naked Max'…because you always had your shirt off, is that true?"

"No, don't get the wrong idea!" Max smiled back. "The reason they called me 'naked' is because I often go into missions without gear or food, requiring me to procure everything on site and make use of what there is."

"_Kinda copying Naked Snake, that is…"_ Max thought.

Max noticed his earpiece was in his right ear, something he didn't quite noticed until he felt his right ear receiving quieter sound. Then, he realized it was on, seeing the bright, blue neon light designs shine even on the dusty floor. As he was finished talking and informing himself that he unconsciously wore the earpiece when he rushed to see the rear of the peg, he heard Kakashi's voice talk into his earpiece. Unbelievably, the copy ninja heard everything he said.

"You mean they sent you without even wearing a pair of pants!?" Kakashi's voice was heard by the three.

"While traveling the Konoha forest that stretches more than ten kilometers ahead, mostly doing S-rank missions, rarely returning to resupply? Sweet Jesus, you are a legend!"

On the other side, Kakashi was with his jonin and chunin friends, along with Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, and Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Rock Lee, Neji and Hinata Hyuga, Tenten, Kiba, Shino Aburame, the Sand Siblings, Tsunade, Shizune, and Ebisu and his team, are in one room, sharing the transceiver Kakashi's using. Guess he's not the only one who heard what Max said.

"You're busting my balls, aren't you, Kakashi?" Everyone in the room laughed.

"Yeah…quite." Warm laughter was heard again.

"…hilarious." Max said, while he noticed himself smile. The ninjas laughed once more.

Nightmare Moon slid behind Twilight in her nebulous form, knowing it's the evil mare's chance. Peeping from a crack in the concrete wall, she said:

"Hmm…those things are old and dusty. Perhaps a little wind will do…"

She rushed towards the circle of balls, and started her work. Spinning counter-clockwise, she scooped up the balls, rising higher and higher. Twilight felt soft wind blow on her face. Opening her eyes, she's horrified to see the evil mare taking away the five elements.

"I won't let you get away with this!"

Without thinking, she jumped on the tornado, shrinking her with it. The five rushed to catch Nightmare Moon, but they were too late.

"Where did Twilight go?"

"Where is she?"

Faster than the five can react to, lightning struck them dead-center in the chest, sending a thousand volts that overloaded their neurons. The four rushed to check on them if they're still alive.

"Grrr…Hrrrg!" Naruto chewed his teeth in rage.

"Bloody hell…" Sasuke whispered sadly.

"DJ, check on them." DJ immediately followed, placing a hoof on each of their chests. After he's done with Pinkie Pie, he turned and said:

"They've been knocked out cold real good."

"Well, how much time we got?"

"We got 45 minutes."

"Time to drop the disguise!" And with a cloud of smoke, they returned to their human form. Naruto did a little stretching.

"Ah, I'm so mobile!" Naruto smiled and cracked his bones one more time.

"Let's follow her!" Sasuke said with passion as he pointed to a tower with glowing windows.

* * *

**The Fight Of The Good Versus Evil!**

Twilight coughed upon being teleported on the tower. Horrified once more to see Nightmare Moon floating the orbs, she stood up straight, brushing her hoof, ready to charge that evil mare. Simply, Nightmare Moon just laughed.

"You're kidding. You're kidding, right?"

"Nope!" Max shouted, breaking in from the window and landing in a crouching stance.

"Twilight, get away!" Naruto jumped over her and broke his fall. "We'll handle this matter!"

"Yeah, it's for your safety, too!" Sasuke broke his fall, too, and landed next to Twilight. DJ did the same, and landed behind Twilight.

But no, Twilight didn't react, in contrary to what the four would expect. Max noticed the hint of silence on her mouth, so he turned around, seeing the face of a shocked Twilight.

"You're…not ponies?"

"Never was!" Max smiled back, giving her a nice guy pose.

"Well, that does not matter now. You're too late!" With those words, she raised her front legs, and stomped on the ground, sending a shock that shattered the element stones. Twilight looked at the shiny, shattered pieces.

"You little foal! Do you think that you could defeat me? Now, you'll never see your princess or your sun again. Because the night, will last, forever!" She gave louder, sinister laughs while she twisted her magic in the air above her. The four remained calm, but Twilight felt her eyes wet.

Max bent down and touched her chin.

"I don't know what to do now!" Twilight cried.

"Twilight…the elements are your five friends."

She transferred her tears to her hooves. "Really?"

"Why would Princess Celestia send you with friends for no reason?" Max smiled, before giving a nod and turning to face Nightmare Moon.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Max gestured his hand to his ear.

"What!?" Nightmare Moon was very surprised.

"I didn't hear what you're saying earlier. Care to repeat?" This caused Twilight to giggle and cheer her spirit up.

"This is how ponies ignore about my art-"

"I couldn't care less about your art!" Sasuke shouted insulting words.

Bowing her head, she made a gloomy aura around her. The four became observant to her actions, crouching so they're ready to flash and flicker. Max, DJ and Sasuke activated their Sharingan, for evasion, of course.

"So...this is how you care about my art?!" Nightmare Moon's eyes glowed brightly.

"Yeah! It's so sad nopony cares about your art! WAHAHAHAHAHA!" They jeered on Nightmare Moon.

"Ask and ye shall receive…" Nightmare Moon's magic made her horn glow dull. A highly concentrated magic bullet shot through the air. Max, who was quick enough to respond, clasped his hands, making a dome of wood. By the force and impact of the magic bullet, it caused the elastic material to bend and creak, making Naruto sweat out of fear. Max switched his hands to form a Ram seal, and muttered some words, and a few moments later, the dome reflected her attack, sending it back to her with lossless velocity.

"KIIIOOOOWWWW!" The bullet shrieked in the air, and near missed Nightmare Moon, who jumped before her attack got close enough.

"Come out there, you coward!" Nightmare ordered Max. Suddenly, Max jumped out of the dome.

"Hmm…this'll be interesting!" Nightmare Moon landed at medium distance from Max.

Max grabbed shuriken between his fingers. This caused Nightmare Moon to jump backwards and cast a magic shield in front of her. She retained the shield for a few seconds, before dispelling it.

"You were able to read my movements and cast a shield. Impressive…"

Nightmare Moon was shocked to feel pain in her back. She then realized Max's shadow clone stabbed her with a kunai.

"…but not smart enough." Max's shadow clone let her catch him, pinning him on the ground. A smirk reaped across his face.

"Not today." Max whispered.

The shadow clone exploded violently, causing knockback on the evil mare. The explosion removed the mercy left in Nightmare Moon, and her sparkling effect, too.

"That does it!" She pointed her horn on Max, grabbing him by magic. Bringing him closer, she encased her in a large water ball.

"Max! Hang in there!" Naruto shouted while Max punched and pounded the wall of the water ball. She can hear the bang of water, making her laugh.

"Your efforts are in vain! Stop doing that, you'll only hurt yourself." Max calmed down.

"Damn!" He punched the water ball one last time. Then, he sat, looking at a worried Naruto and an angry Sasuke.

"_You can do it…just remember the __**fight like this**__, and it might help you…"_

DJ immediately crossed his fingers. "Shadow clone jutsu!" He created fifteen shadow clones, making them line up to Naruto.

Sasuke stood, not moving a muscle like a statue, while **observing** Nightmare Moon and her captive.

"Naruto…" Sasuke called out.

"Yes?" Wind blew across Sasuke softly.

"You know…remember when we fought Zabuza?"

"Yeah…oh, that's right!" Naruto smiled back greatly.

"We'll do it again!" Sasuke held his katana out.

"Ready?" Sasuke asked.

"Always!" Naruto did a hand seal, yelling, "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

And out came a hundred battle-ready clones. Rushing at Nightmare Moon at full speed, Naruto and his clones, with the combined efforts of DJ's, wasted no time to pin her down. And success came to be. But by Nightmare Moon's raw strength, she pushed them all away, making them grind the stone-cold floor. Poof here, poof there. The popping sound of dispelling clones was heard in the castle. Sasuke threw a kunai near Nightmare Moon.

"I'm still not giving up!" Naruto reached for his bag. Grabbing the metal handle, he sent the folded weapon flipping to the ninja.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled out.

When the metallic surface of the handle reached Sasuke, he smiled with hope. Twisting his body clockwise, he said:

"Ha! Your tricks never get old, Naruto!"

Opening the four blades, he held it in his left hand, the curved part of the blades facing up.

"Demon Wind Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows!" Sasuke yelled.

"Windmill of Shadows?" Twilight wondered.

Nightmare Moon looked at Sasuke's weapon and scoffed. "Do you really think you could beat me with a puny weapon like that?"

With this, Sasuke smiled, and jumped, throwing the weapon while he's upside down. The fuma shuriken zipped through the air as quickly as possible, covering a distance of roughly one hundred meters in just a few seconds. Nightmare Moon simply stopped the weapon with magic.

"I told you so!"

Another fuma shuriken flew towards her.

"So…he threw another shuriken. Great." She took a step back, and the shuriken just missed.

"I told you it will take more than that to defeat me!"

Twilight gasped in horror. She witnessed how the evil alicorn effortlessly dodged the shuriken. But Sasuke, no, he didn't react like that. Instead, he gave a sinister smile.

The shuriken was not a real one, but it's Naruto's shadow clone. The clone, after returning its form, grabbed a kunai, and then threw it in a direction.

"Eat this!" yelled the clone. Nightmare Moon took a step away from the clone, thinking she could dodge it again. But wait! The clone did aim not for her, but for the kunai that stuck on the floor! The kunai bounced off the hilt of another kunai Sasuke threw earlier, changing the trajectory of the thrown kunai to the horn of the alicorn. The blades grazed the long and black side, freeing Max from the water ball.

"Aggghh…kahhf…" Max regurgitated some water swallowed.

"HHRRRRRRRAAAAAHHHH!" Nightmare Moon spun the fuma shuriken so fast, it created some wind around it. Max saw this, and as a result, he seared chakra underneath his feet and sped up, disarming her, and back-flipping.

Generating chakra threads, he pushed the shattered pieces towards Twilight, and running back to her to regroup. Meanwhile, the voices of Twilight's pony friends rang through the stairs. Twilight's pupil widened greatly. She felt the spark inside her. Now, feeling the newfound confidence, she boldly said:

"You think you can destroy the elements of harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong!"

Naruto ordered Max. "Max, the lion-headed kannon!"

To keep her still, and to make one final move, he threw a ball that contained an improvised lion head. The ball ruptured, causing the head to grow exponentially in just a matter of few seconds. The head pinned her down in a window, albeit the object holds no windows. A sealing jutsu was activated at contact, marking the smooth, large portion of the lion head. The four immediately transformed back to ponies.

"Because the spirits of the elements of harmony, are right here!"

Then, the pieces began to float and glow.

"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of…honesty!" The respective pieces encircled Applejack.

"Fluttershy, who tamed the Manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of...kindness!" Same goes for Fluttershy, although, she is quite shocked.

"Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of…laughter!" Pinkie Pie was excited and happy for receiving the element.

"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of…generosity!"

"And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of... loyalty!"

Nightmare Moon thought she had little hope left. "You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!"

As she turned around to see her friends and the four, she said: "But it did! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all…" She can't help but to shed a tear. Turning around to face her one more time, she continued: "…are my friends!"

With a bright light that filled the castle, the sixth orb levitated above Twilight, with an engraved vector symbol of her cutie mark. It descended just right above her horn. A brighter light emitted from the orb.

"You see, Nightmare Moon, when those elements were ignited by the…uh…the spark!..that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element! The element of…magic!"

As the pieces of the orbs materialized into necklaces, with the exception of Twilight's, which became a tiara, the six levitated while being covered in a coat of luminescence. As the power of each element combined, two towering rainbows twisted at each other to the height of the ceiling, before striking Nightmare Moon, which screamed while being devoured in a rainbow tornado.

"Hey, Max!" Naruto looked at him, with both wearing shades.

"What?!" He shouted for him to hear.

"Guess we didn't need the senjutsu anyway!"

"Yeah!...probably, that'll fatigue us real good after doing it, if we did!"

Naruto looked at the ground as if he was observing something.

"Wait…how did you know about those chakra strings?!"

"Grandma Chiyo taught me!"

"I also relayed info while Sasuke was looking at me!"

Sasuke and DJ were wearing shades, too!

"That's right! The Sharingan can communicate, too!"

As the six were done purifying her, they passed out on the ground, briefly. The four slowly walked in, while Rainbow Dash recovered first.

"Ughh…my head." Rainbow Dash rubbed her left temple.

"Everypony okay?" Applejack asked.

"Oh! Thank goodness!" Rarity yelped, while looking at her tail and standing tall.

"Why Rarity, it's so lovely." Fluttershy gave a compliment.

"I know! I'll never part with it again!" She waved her tail in the air, before she had her snuggle time with it.

"No, your necklace! It looks just like your cutie mark!" Fluttershy pointed out.

"Woo?~ Oh?~" She looked at the necklace first, before shifting her flank to see the cutie mark.

"So is yours!" Rarity looked at Fluttershy's.

Fluttershy gasped in amazement as her necklace.

"Look at mine! Look at mine!" said by an excited Pinkie Pie while jumping greatly.

"Aww yeah!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings.

Twilight adjusted her head to see her tiara.

"Gee, Twilight! I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey…but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship." Applejack confessed.

"Indeed, you do." A familiar voice rang out. As the sun rose and become awaken from its would-be eternal slumber, a bright light synchronized with the movements of the sun. The orb of light floated in, finally glowing brightly, until the ball materialized into Princess Celestia, with her wings splayed amazingly. Upon seeing this, the five ponies bowed to show reverence, while Twilight gasped.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight rushed towards her.

"Twilight Sparkle! My faithful student." She hugged Twilight lightly buy placing her neck on Twilight's back neck.

"But…you told me it was just an old ponies' tale!"

"I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more." The princess raised a hoof.

"Reporting for duty, Your Highness!" Max and his gang saluted.

"And you, Max…thank you. I'm very sorry for curiously entering the portal I accidentally made." She whispered.

"No problem, Your Highness! These prats and I ready to help!"

The princess continued.

"I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now if only another will as well."

"Princess Luna!"

The six turned around to see a young Luna, lying on the ground, along with sharp blue-tinted shards of glass, with the pieces of the lion-headed kannon. The princess opened her eyes and gasped upon seeing her sister.

"It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this."

She knelt down to speak.

"Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister."

"Sister?!" All **six** asked.

"Oh my God, Twilight!" Max shouted.

"What? I didn't know it was her sister!" Twilight shouted back.

Max is not amused when he heard this. But, he smiled when he said, "Ready, Sasuke?"

Sasuke raised a straight hoof. "Ready!" He nodded and smiled.

Naruto ran at full speed towards Sasuke. After a few seconds of running for half a hundred meters, he launched himself in the air, making his face hit Sasuke's hoof. DJ shouted with passion:

"ULTIMATE FACEHOOF!"

Naruto dropped down, feeling pain and happiness at the same time. DJ and Sasuke invited him to laugh wholeheartedly, while they held their bellies.

"_But actually, ultimate facehooves are done with the help of Rainbow Dash…" _Max whispered.

"What? Seriously, I didn't know it was her sister!"

"Impossible, Twilight! You know you read the prophecy! It said…" Max perfectly imitated the voice of Princess Celestia. "One fateful day, the **younger unicorn** refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon."

A lightning crack followed. Max spoke in his normal voice. "Hmm…well, where did that come from?"

DJ and the other two shared some moments.

"Likes reading, but didn't comprehend thoroughly."

Sasuke tilted his head down. "Please hit me as hard as you can…" Louder laughs were heard.

"Will you accept my friendship?" Princess Celestia calmly asked.

The six leaned forward, hoping for the young princess to accept. Pinkie Pie leaned too much, causing her to trip over.

"Come on, now." Princess Celestia persuaded for a reply.

"I do, but…"

"Come back with us. Everypony's waiting for you." Max interfered.

"I can't go back…I can't face everypony…"

"_Oh boy, this'll take a while. I thought she'd accept it…"_

"Nothing to be ashamed of. Pain gets the better of us all."

Sasuke's ears twitched. "It's…that **sermon**…" he whispered.

"That sermon?"

"Yeah! That sermon!"

"I wish I was dead…" This made everypony gasp. Everypony except DJ, Sasuke, and Max. With those words, he extended his tail to get his .500 Smith and Wesson white magnum revolver, opening and loading the cylinder with six rounds. Placing back the cartridge, he pointed the revolver at Princess Luna's head. The weight of the gun plus the natural softness of half of all the tail muscles caused him to point the gun in an oblique manner. The other half of his tail reached for his pockets.

"Alright. I'll put you out of misery. Any last words?" A soft gun click was heard, before being stalked by silence.

"Shoot, you're only going to kill a pony."

"Stop!" Naruto and Princess Celestia chorused. Sasuke got a hold of Naruto.

"Don't! Let him do it!" Sasuke tugged at Naruto's tail.

"He's gonna kill my sister!" Princess Celestia cried and shouted.

DJ rushed to stop the princess in her tracks.

"Trust me! 'I' know what I'm doing!" DJ restrained her.

Princess Luna felt his body freeze, albeit her heart pounding against her chest loudly. She felt a rain of sweat drip down from her forehead to her cheeks. She can't think clearly, because there is an instant, fatal threat pointed at her. Somehow, even without looking, she can tell where is the gun is. Panting loudly, she felt her body shaking. She wasn't sure he wanted an eternal reward, but she's going to be shot anyway. Max pulled the trigger.

A loud gunshot was heard.

"Huh?!"

A photo swingingly descended into the ground. It showed a portrait of Princess Luna, smiling, and in full color. The hole in the photo was located at the princess' chest. It was almost set on fire; only to have it produced a considerable amount of smoke.

"I just wasted a bullet. Don't waste your life." Max calmly told Princess Luna. It turned out that Max quickly shifted the gun's direction away from her, and shoot the photo instead. Princess Celestia almost fainted, dropping into the ground heavily and quickly, realizing that her head was wet with sweat. Naruto looked like he has been petrified, because he was rigid when Sasuke jokingly tapped his back to check if he was still alive.

Bending his knees, he said, "Listen to me, Princess Luna. You died here today. You understand?"

Princess Luna felt crying some more, while Max raised his revolver at shoulder-level.

"You're a new pony. Now…give that new life to your sister."

Keeping his revolver inside his cloak, he continued.

"Rule with her, little princess. Show her how good you really are."

Princess Luna felt crying a bit more to take off the remaining pain, so she did. Max approached her, and continued.

"Dry your tears, then promise me one thing."

Max paused. "No more escaping from your duties."

Reaching out his hoof, he said: "Remember, real princesses are never as polished as the powers that they carry with them."

Princess Luna wiped away her tears, then touched the hoof of Max. Nearing her head to him, she smiled. "You got it, boss!"

Max replied with a worried but funny smile. "Ehhhhh…..just call me Max."

She then gave a kiss on Max's forehead. With that, happening unexpectedly, his cheeks blushed rosy red. Of course, he returned it with a kiss, too.

"Aww…" All the ponies chorused.

"She kissed him and he kissed back…how sweet…" Princess Celestia smiled while her head tilted.

"Is…is that what I'm hearing?" Kakashi butted in by Max's un-disabled earpiece.

"The younger princess kissed you?! And you kissed her?!"

Murmurs were heard in the room. Everyone was like 'wow, this is good!'.

"Yeah…why?" Max touched his earpiece. For a few moments, everyone in the room is almost silent thanks to the soft counting Max carefully listened. Then, synchronized singing followed.

"Max and Luna, sitting on a tree!~" At this, Max, was quite annoyed, yet, dominantly amused.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Max said with a lazy, monotonic tone. Everyone in the room laughed.

"You guys really do have a knack for chopping my confidence, don't you?" The group laughed, yet again.

Max gave a sigh. Pinkie Pie was suddenly crying, with a fountain of tears jumping from her eyes. Wiping her tears, she said:

"Hey, you know what this calls for?"

"A party!"

She ran into the town, celebrating with ponies that had a good time. Jumping around, trotting happily, doing every excited action conceivable. Max and the three are having a walk.

"You know, Max…sorry for the things I've said, like "things I can't understand", and 'the very idea of a world of ponies is not cool'. I found out that it was the reverse."

Max laid a hoof on Naruto's back. "Don't fret, because we are always naturally quick to judge things, because the outside appearance is what we look for."

"Hey, I'm starting to like this place!" Sasuke smiled, while looking at ponies and houses.

Suddenly, a stallion appeared in front of the four. It had a cream-colored coat, with brown mane and tail, with cobalt blue eyes. It had itself wearing a white shirt with tints of black smudged over it. It appears interested by the gaze of his look, protected by a pair of glasses, and by the posture of his body.

"Oh, hello. Nice meeting you." Max greeted him.

"Nice cutie maaaaaark!" Naruto gasped at the sight of the stallion's cutie mark. It had a light blue sphere, with same-colored rays that shoot out in an X formation. In the center of the sphere, lies an hourglass.

"Well, whadda you know? Somepony did too many talents!" Max smiled.

"Hello. I'm Dream Chaser!" Dream Chaser shook Max's hoof. Then again, after half a second. And again, after.

"Okaaayyyy…" DJ took a step back.

"Nice meeting you!" He ran away as if he stole something.

"What did he just do?" Naruto jawdropped.

"Boo!"

With Naruto's fast reaction, he jumped at the mischievous, little devil, knocking him off from the roof, and pinning him with one hoof. Both of them fell on the ground, with Dream Chaser receiving more crushing force from the weight of Naruto.

"Help…me…" Dream Chaser coughed and puffed.

"That's for surprising me!" Naruto shouted.

"Hey, release him." Max ordered as he pressurized his cheek. Dream Chaser let air rush in his lungs, before pushing himself from the ground.

"Well, I didn't notice you have wings." Max pointed to the well-camouflaged wings.

"Ah, it is naturally hidden, as what ponies say." Dream Chaser fixed his glasses.

"Well, you really are a funny colt!" Max gave a compliment.

"I came from Canterlot."

"What is your age?"

"14."

"Well, you sure do have an age."

"Of course! What would be us without an age? It completely defines the time spent in three dimensions!"

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Are you sure about three spatial dimensions? No fourth dimension, the time dimension?"

Dream Chaser's head magnetized his right hoof. "Oh, horseapples!"

"Hey, no swearing here. Swear all you want in Canterlot, but not here."

Dream Chaser bowed. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Turning to his back, he saw the main six.

"Well, gotta go greet them! I'll just step right in…" And the silly colt went off in the pool of ponies.

* * *

"Look how've they grown!" A **spiky-haired pony** sat on a roof, along with some ponies he knew.

"Yeah…**I miss them**." A **black-haired pony** answered.

"Aww, doesn't it bring you happiness, sweetie?" A **red-haired pony** told her **husband**.

"More than happiness, honey. It makes me proud." The **yellow-colored spiky-haired pony** replied.

"Well, off to writing my **eighth book**. Gonna do my **research**…" The pony dropped down from the roof.

"Off to go, too…" The couple took a landing.

"I'm very sorry that I wasn't able to tell you, straightly. So forgive me…**Sasuke**…"

* * *

"Max? What've been you looking at the hills?" Naruto asked a busy Max.

"Hmm…" Max grumbled to himself. Then, a red twinkle shone on his eyes somewhere atop a roof."

"It's **him**." He whispered. He went to Twilight, which was going to doze off in the bed at the library tree.

"Well, make it fast. I want you to be experimented on." Twilight responded, while wiping off a drop of tear in the outer corner of her eyes.

With her authorization, Max made short work of the rooftops. The three followed, with DJ at Max's side, and Sasuke at Naruto's side.

Finally, Max made a stop. He yelled in the air. "ITACHI!"

Sasuke gasped. "Brother?!"

Max poured all his time on searching for him, jumping from house to house, making speed bleed on his legs. After reaching the hills, he finally gave a stop. He stuffed his lungs with air. Touching the ground with his hooves, he said:

"Come out, you little fucker."

A pony came out. Sasuke became delighted on what he saw. "Itachi?!"

"Sasuke! Max! Naruto!" Itachi transformed into a human, hugging the now-transformed Max, Naruto, and Sasuke. He hugged them tightly and warmly.

"Good to see you! Pervy sage?" Naruto turned to see the Sannin. Later, the rest of Akatsuki were present, except for Kabuto and Tobi.

"Guys! You're here!" Max exclaimed.

"Hey, thanks for the eye scope you gave me!" Deidara thanked Max.

Then, Twilight teleported near Max.

"Max! I found a-" She stopped when she saw a group of people in front of her.

Could things get any better?

Announcement: I'm gonna write the story of 'Max' in the next chapter. So, what do you guys think? Do you like it? Does it need more cowbell?

Update: Changed a word that begs for death.


	15. From The Other Eyes

**Chapter 15**

**From The Other Eyes**

* * *

**[Somewhere in Canterlot…]**

**[15 minutes prior to Sasuke's arrival at 5:00am…]**

The transport was filled with equipment necessary for combat. Flintlock muskets, rifles, sniper rifles, assault rifles, Molotov cocktails, and M67 grenades are lined up at the side of which the door is placed inside. The opposite side is loaded with communication devices, with three ball pens of individual color: black, red, and blue used for writing and drawing on that supply of 90 leaves of clean, white, scratch paper. On the right of the headliner, near where the communication devices are placed, has a screen that shows what the sonar radar caught in its ping radius. With two electric fans blowing cautiously throughout the hull, the cold air played around their skin.

'Max' had been talking to them for quite a while. Natasha told 'Max' that her bottles are a hit. But, 'Max' was greatly shocked about the price tag of the product.

"3000 bits?! Isn't that overpricing?" 'Max' sheepishly asked.

"Actually, to tell you the truth, it was the record price to a bottle I made, because my client needed a drip-safe valve because he has a bad habit of leaving his water container open. Then, I learned that there were no designs for a drip-safe valve, plus, the materials needed are imported and quite rare. I was forced to experiment with a few pieces of that material to create the valve. Of course, after crafting the container I asked for a patent license, making me the owner of the design."

While 'Max' was looking away, Nexus eyed a particular flintlock musket. It has a hard, shiny, and handsome wood finish. Its barrel shone from the light source in the internal roof. The parts emit a feeling of being a veteran of countless wars, despite of the new and refreshing look of the gun.

"What a cool gun you have here."

'Max' turned to him. "Thanks. It's called **Tanegashima**."

"Tanegashima?"

"It is a near-mythical legendary musket owned by the hands of an expert gunsmith, dating back to the time of the samurai. It's **dead accurate at any range**, at the cost of reload speed. Ironically called a musket, hmm…"

Nexus touched the gun, matching the texture he initially thought by looking at it.

"How many seconds does it take you to reload?"

"I could put the gunpowder in, drop the lead ball, unsheathe the ramrod, push it back all up, and keep the ramrod, aim, all at 10 seconds."

Nexus laughed off, feeling quite superior to the clone.

"I can reload my gun in 5 seconds!"

"That's because you use the scopeless bolt-action Karabiner 98k rifle. Such a shame you need to take out 5 bullets and put them at a rate of one bullet per second."

Nexus' face darkened. "So not true!" He protested by bumping a Karabiner 98k rifle by the barrel by a hoof.

'Max' quickly grabbed the musket and handed it to Nexus. "Care to try?"

Nexus accepted the challenge by quickly grabbing the musket as fast as possible. 'Max' handed him the black powder and lead balls. He put the gunpowder in, but he kept a cautious eye on the powder. Then, he stopped, making tentative tilts on the gunpowder container. Then, he grabbed a lead ball, and dropped it down. Taking the ramrod, he pushed the lead ball down to the gunpowder. Keeping the rod, he gave it to 'Max', who was in possession of a stopwatch.

"30 seconds! Not bad…" He smiled, taking the rifle by two hands. "Your turn." Nexus calmly replied.

'Max' grabbed the Karabiner rifle. He opened the hatch to check if it has any obstructions, then he smoothly closed the hatch. Relaxing his free hand, he waited for the Royal Guard's signal.

"Go!"

He quickly grabbed a 5-round magazine, and he placed his wrist near the hatch. He used his wrists as a pivot in the air, putting the magazine in the hatch, taking off the stripper clip and closing it while keeping his wrist in one place.

"2 seconds! That's…"

'Max' kept the gun back at the gun rack. "…nothing. So tell me again how long it takes you to reload."

"Enough, you two." Sonata butted in. She fixed her glasses shortly after the two stopped their competition on who's better.

"Hmm…from the looks of the equipment, it was designed for use in heat of battle, right?" Natasha took a good look at the display.

"Yeah…pretty much." 'Max' answered.

"Much? Everything here is suited for war!" Stephen exclaimed.

"Well…not that one." He pointed to a case of vodka.

"Ah, vodka!" Natasha hurriedly closed in near the crates.

"That makes you feel warm – when the temperature is low." Sonata reasoned out.

"But what if in tropical climates?"

"Rainy days."

"Desert?"

"I don't think the vehicle is suited for the desert, based from its design."

'Max' tried to test her knowledge, but her awesome thinking skills are off the charts.

"Damn, too smart!" 'Max' smiled.

Nexus gave 'Max' a bump in the shoulder. "She's a total nerd."

Now Sonata doesn't like the idea of being called a "nerd". She was about to lash out to Nexus, but 'Max' did, but in a kind way.

"Nexus, 'nerd', is an offensive term."

"I strongly agree with you." Sonata closed her eyes and fixed her glasses.

"Then, what do you call…them?" The mayor broke free from her chained silence whilst refraining to repeat the word.

"I prefer calling her…an **intellectual badass.**"

Sonata giggled at the word 'Max' came up.

"You got me at that one." She confessed.

"But let's be serious – intellectual badass, okay? I'll prepare the man cannon."

As he walked away, Sonata waited for 'Max' to walk off some distance. Then, she raised a question. "Man cannon?"

'Max' heard the question. "The man cannon is a troop-deployment system that enables to launch personnel over a kilometer away. Kinda handy in the heat of battle, you know…"

"But very dangerous to use if there are air defenses stationed near the landing area." Stephen carefully analyzed his words to form an appropriate conclusion.

"Alright, let's waste no time! Into the cannon!" 'Max' declared as he grabbed his scoped Springfield rifle.

"Hmm…I don't think it's safe." Natasha protested.

Sonata took a look at the smoothbore cannon. "It's fine. The barrel is well-greased to prevent the living ammunition to be set alight by friction alone."

"But who's gonna catch us all?" The mayor blurted.

"She's right – do you expect us to be in one piece if we are launched at a high altitude?" Natasha agreed with the mayor.

"Yes." 'Max' replied with no difficulty.

Stephen explained so he can help. "If we can reduce the angle set by the cannon, we'd be still alive while slightly increasing the range of the cannon."

"Okay!" 'Max' went into a portion of the transport and started pushing buttons that responded with colored LED lights.

"Setting angle…" He typed some numbers using the keyboard.

"Setting power…" He cranked a dial with numbers ranging from 1 to 10. Setting the dial to 8, he continued to type some numbers.

"Ready to go! Who's first?!" 'Max' readied the launch sequence by grabbing a rod-shaped rubberized lever. Everypony took a step backward except for a brave Nexus.

"Me? Ok, this should be fine." Nexus positioned himself in the cannon, obtaining a view of the starry, night sky.

"Godspeed, Nexus!" He pulled the lever down, ejecting him from the cannon. He went at high speed, almost freezing his face from the velocity of his launch. He landed on four hooves, sitting for a while to warm up his facial muscles.

"Awwright!" Sonata stepped up and positioned herself in the cannon. Pulling again the lever, she felt the same temperature in her face as much as Nexus did, making the glasses blurry from the cold.

"Next." Stephen stepped on the cannon. He was launched, landing next to Sonata.

"Dasvedanya!" He said while he launched Natasha.

The mayor was next. From her look, she seemed fazed from seeing a snake slither under her.

"Come on, mayor! This'll be fun!" 'Max' told her.

"I-is it safe?" 'Max' laughed wholeheartedly.

"Don't know until we try!" 'Max' immediately grabbed her body and placed her on the launching pad.

"So long, magnificent mayor!" He pulled the lever again, launching her towards the castle.

"Lastly, me!" He produced three wooden clones, then rushed to the launching pad. One of his clone grabbed the lever, pulling it down.

"Be careful of anti-air!" The clone spat out last words.

"Geronimo!" 'Max' felt saying the word, to enjoy the possibly-lethal ride. He plummeted down to the ground, kneeling like any cool spy or agent descends down from a considerable height.

'Max' straightened up his body and sniffed the cold air.

"Ah~! The first breath is the sweetest!"

He looked at his body. He brought out the antiquated musket and the Springfield rifle, too. He took some steps before he turned to the five.

"Let's go to Canterlot Castle!"

The five formed a pentagon-shaped formation behind 'Max'. The tip was Nexus, the first pair compose of Natasha and the Mayor, while the second pair is composed of Sonata and Stephen.

As they treaded the dead-silent road, he can feel the cold creep up on his skin. He observed the five, and saw that they were breathing cold vapor.

The mayor murmured signs of coldness. "Brrrr…"

"It's so cold." Sonata said.

"Here, have some vodka." Natasha levitated her small canteen of vodka.

"No, thank you." Sonata replied.

"Hmm…if we can only make fire…" Stephen told his plan.

"That? Oh, umm…" 'Max' brushed his cloak. Then, he channeled weak fire-infused chakra into the fabric. He appeared to be in flames by the cloak, but neither he is burning, nor does his cloak.

"Whoa!" Sonata expressed shock and awe upon the jutsu's activation.

"Amazing…no unicorn ever done that!" Stephen told him.

"It's a matter of controlling energy to a weak extent. You need to exert control in chakra as well as the same time use an elemental transformation."

"Wait…chakra!?" Natasha suddenly snapped to herself.

"_Like any unicorn would react to that word…"_

"Did you say…chakra?" Natasha questioned him.

He gave a Nicholas Cage smile to her. "No, I said magic power!"

Natasha was slightly annoyed by the rude response of the clone.

"But seriously, why give a surprised reaction?" 'Max' wondered.

"Because…I never heard of it…" Natasha kept walking and focused her eyes on the road.

"I read a book about it. Its purpose is to improve the mentality and personality of the subject. But, I never thought chakra could be used as a form of magic. Why is that?" Sonata wondered.

"It's simple: it's not."

"Now I can't understand…" Mayor Mare gave a reaction.

"Hmm…" Stephen rubbed his chin. "Ah, I got it!"

"What? What is it!?" said by an interested Sonata.

"He's trying to say that chakra is a separate way to do things normally a pony can't. It's the equivalent of magic power in unicorns." Stephen fixed his glasses.

Everypony "Ahhhhh'ed".

"But I'm uncertain if unicorns possess chakra, or even, if ponies ever possessed chakra. So far, the only beings that I know have chakra are **special animals**, or summons."

"Hmm…I'm really pissed off of myself." Sonata kept her sharp look.

"Maybe there are some stuff that they don't want ponies to know." said Stephen.

"Please don't say that…it sounds all the more scary…" 'Max' shivered.

"Well, guys, at this rate, we might be there at next morning." Nexus reminded the group to speed up a little faster.

"Hurry! Time grow short!" Natasha responded.

'Max' raised a clenched right fist at head level, implying the group to stop at their place. "Hold on…keep your eyes peeled." He put out the cloak of flames.

They looked carefully on the street. The streetlights are mysteriously lit, showing stones that are caked on the road. He raised his right hand, and sounded off by making a snap by the fingers. He listened carefully to the sound. Then, before his eyes would widen, a set of finely-woven wire strings tied up the clone. He struggled to escape, but the slimness of the wires threatened his body to be cut into slabs of bloody meat.

"Max!" The mayor yelled out.

"Dark Royal Guards!" Nexus easily identified the threat.

Hiss-like laughs filled the cold street air. They knew their firepower is devastatingly decreased because the clone is tied up.

"This is bad…we're surrounded…" Sonata said.

"I guess there's no option…" Stephen grabbed something from his pouch. It is a medium-sized vial, such that the four fingers don't reach the thumbs when you grab the vial. It bottled a sparkling, light-blue liquid, which filled 80% of the bottle. He opened the lid, and drank all the contents of the liquid. It tasted like an effervescent version of Listerene®.

"What did you just drank?" Natasha asked.

"Magic-enhancing concoction. Sadly, it's experimental…"

"Don't use that!" Sonata barked at the unicorn.

"Why not? It's not like Equestria will crumble if I drank the stuff."

"Most prototype concoctions are relatively unstable and dangerous!"

"Hell, I'd rather deal with those flankholes…than to die like a useless goat!" He protested. Sonata began to remember the numerous times Stephen is in the way. She formerly regarded him as a pony who can't do everything right, or at the very least, can't avoid a mistake. She remembered the years Stephen had to cling to Sonata because he can't live alone. But now…Sonata slowly gained respect from him.

"Stephen…"

Albeit the side effects he has to discover, he stood up confidently, expressing minimal regret of his actions.

"Come on, guys! Do you want to live forever!?" Nexus grabbed his sword. Natasha grabbed her bottle, with vodka filled to the brim. She ignited the wick that was fixed to the cap of the bottle by making contact with it via the tip of her horn. She threw the cocktail towards the head of one dark guard, successfully incinerating the victim, while it spread into a sea of flames that dared anypony foolish enough to come close.

"Hang in there!" Natasha yelled out to the clone. But, it was too late. The dark guards tugged the wire strings, ripping the clone to shreds.

"Noooo!" Mayor Mare yelled.

"Hrrr!" Stephen channeled magic into his horn, emitting a grayish-white glow. He fired a devastatingly concentrated burst of high-velocity solidified magic material. It hit one dark guard head, then another, and another after another, converting the battlefield into one, serious pinball machine. The force of the impact is so strong, it has near-lethal concussive force.

"**Ricochet Magic Bullets.** Pretty handy."

"My turn!" Nexus rushed at the group of dark guards, cutting and incapacitating them with reckless abandon. He pushed other guards away by his strong, muscular two hind legs, which were enough to send somepony flying back to Ponyville. Stephen shot more flying dark guards, and Sonata covered his back while doing so. Natasha grabbed a hard bottle and started smashing it into the heads as fast and concussive as she can do. As they defeated more of the baddies and kept them in company, more just kept coming. He jumped back to rest, and come up with a plan on how to get out of this sticky situation.

"Gah! This is bad…" Nexus felt his heart burn from exhaustion.

"What do we do?" Sonata asked.

"Well…what can we do is to hold off as much as we can to soften the work and trouble when the Princess shows up…" Natasha said while holding her bottle, which was now destroyed by impact.

"If we just had that deus ex machina…" Stephen charged his horn once again as a dark guard easily passed through the ranks of the five, and closing on Stephen, when suddenly, a fist came flying just beside Stephen's head. It punched the temple of the guard's head, successfully and violently shaking the skull of the guard.

"Tell me you're joking…" The mayor can't believe her eyes! It's 'Max'! He was unscathed; not even the surface of his cloak accepted a scratch. He now possesses the red eyes – the Sharingan – the bane of all who opposes it.

"Who says I'm dead? Take a second look at where I…'died'."

The five looked at the middle of the street. They expected it to be filled with blood, or shreds of cloth, but they only sighted a handful of wood! No blood, no cloth, no body, to be found. Just intelligently cut slabs of wood.

"What the-!?" Nexus froze in place.

"Who are you?" Stephen sweated out of fear.

"I'm…your greatest fear." He stood up, bringing out his katana. It has a white, wooden cylindrical handle, with a meter showing on one side. It has a long blade, that when made upright, matches the height from the feet to the bottommost rib. The blade is shiny, and having it made from tungsten, it has hardened and melt-resistant properties.

Nexus sighed at its sheer beauty. "Quite the sword you got there."

"It's my safety katana. Whenever it's about to hit somepony that has no killing intent, it automatically retracts and makes itself blunt for thirty seconds, before it returns to its normal size sharpens itself again."

"Care to take it for a spin so I can see how that sword of yours works?" Sonata requested.

'Max' readied himself with the katana. "Just make sure you live long enough to see how this works."

Stephen started his barrage of ricocheting magic bullets. He made the thin annoyances fly and bounce off walls, metal, and concrete. 'Max' dodged and deflected some of the incoming bullets while incapacitating the evil guards by making a deep cut in the wings or front legs. The sound of whistling bullets with the added sound of blade eating through flesh circulated in the atmosphere.

"Impressive!" Sonata remarked as 'Max' nullified a spell casted by a dark unicorn guard by cutting through it. As he cut more spells in half, the gauge meter in the handle started to fill until it's full.

"Alright, let's try this!" He raised the blade overhead. A pack of wildly running dark guards wasted no second in chasing him. He gestured the blade to form a correctly-shaped capital letter C when viewed from the guard's perspective. As the meter slowly consumed itself, a strong wind reaped through their ranks. The guards can't help it but to be carried away by the strong wind, and quite gave them the cold treatment.

"Whoa!" Stephen could hardly contain himself as he tapped the road by his hooves in excitement.

"Hahahaha! I could hardly contain myself!" 'Max' said.

"So do I!" Stephen smiled greatly.

"There many wonders of that blade, too awesome to write." Natasha spoke usually in her sweet accent. The Mayor made a mock of her words by grabbing a quill and paper.

"Is that wind?" Sonata asked.

"No, it's fire!" 'Max' gave her the Nicholas Cage smile. He changed the cartridge of the hilt with a red cartridge.

"Anypony who feels their flank getting kicked, step forward!" He ordered. All of them stepped.

"Still got the guts?" He asked one question before running away from them, ironically.

"Hey! Why'd you leave me!?" Stephen barked.

"When I say the signal, you get out!" He knelt down, grabbed his Tanegashima. He aimed at the guards, ready to pull the trigger.

* * *

"Dad, what is that?" Max asked and pointed at a musket.

"That, son, is a gun. Its name is Tanegashima." Takehiko introduced.

"What does it do?"

"Oh, it's very dangerous. It fires a small lead ball that has that power to take away life."

Max pouted out of sadness. "That's bad…"

Takehiko brushed his palm through his spiky hair. "But not always…"

Max raised an eyebrow. "How?"

Takehiko took the gun and held the musket by the barrel. He neared it to Max, which made the young ninja frightened to touch it. "I heard rumors that an unwilling samurai fired at his friend, and you know what happened?"

"What?" Max replied with interested eyes.

"That's for you to find out." Takehiko handed him the gun. "Promise me that you will take responsibility of Tanegashima. It's not a toy, hell, guns are never toys. If you pull the trigger, you mean it."

"Yes, dad!" Max kept looking at the length of the musket with such fear.

"Always remember: A soldier or ninja's skills are never used to hurt friends."

* * *

"Now it's a good way to find out." 'Max' carried on the conversation of his father as if he was on his side, watching how he pulls off the trick shot.

"What are you trying-don't tell me…" Sonata's words faded at that point.

"Hold still, sucker. NOW!" He yelled, making Stephen jump out from the cluster of guards. He pulled the trigger, launching the lead ball. He sweated as he does not want to kill any of those guards, preferring to only disable them, nothing more. He have a fear that the shot wouldn't do crazy things his dad said about the rumor. Will it succeed? Will it fail? Questions raced across his mind.

The lead ball hit its mark. The head. But, something weird happened. The sight was too unbelievable to be described.


	16. From The Other Eyes, Part II

**Chapter 16**

**From The Other Eyes, Part II**

**An:** The single quotation marks('') are now only used if the real character and his/her clone are present and/or the real character and his/her clone is brought up in a subject. Or if two shadow clones are brought up to subject.

The lead ball bounced off the dark royal guard's head. It didn't pierce through the skull, although the helmet was thin enough and did not provide any sufficient protection to the head, except for a handful of sword swings. With this, the dark guards laughed, seeing the epic fail of assassination.

"What the hell was that!?" Nexus looked at a smiling Max. The latter's eyes darkened from the shadows that his hair casted upon his face.

"Legend says…when Tanegashima hits its mark…**mysterious things happen from time to time**…" He said with a confident smile.

"What does he mean?" Mayor Mare looked at her comrades. Everypony was silent, for they don't know.

Max continued without satisfying her question. "Sometimes…"

The air around the hit dark guard started to feel dense, and unsettling. It gave them a warning to move out of the way, but they were experiencing fear that even robs their will to move.

"…it even **summons**…"

Dirt levitated around them, floating like fireflies. It disturbed the skin of some dark guards, causing them to shake their body.

"…**a divine wind**."

The air abruptly changed its atmosphere. It recklessly ran in circles, sucking up dust and some debris of the guards. Some guards tried to save their kin, but ended up with the storm of randomness. It threw its gobbled things up in the air, clearing any threat that was in the way.

'Max' punched in the air horizontally, then he laughed after. "Hahahaaaa! Flawless victory, now do it again!"

With those words that echoed in the streets, he knew it would attract attention. He quickly changed into his disguise. The wind howled through the corners of the rooms, bringing in a confusing mix of fragrance.

"Well…there goes a pin drop."

A pony walked out from a corner of a house. It was a little, light purple filly unicorn, with clean, blonde mane and tail. It trotted near Max who stared down at the cute pony. It smiled after a few seconds, which the clone smiled back with his decently handsome face.

"Aww!~ A cute filly!" Sonata let her inside feelings show.

"Ha!"

They heard the short squeal of a young mare. And they were right; it was a mare. It had a grey body and wings, with a clean, blonde mane and tail that is styled no different from Rainbow Dash. Its cutie mark is familiar to the clone, as he became frozen in awe. It is a **cluster of bubbles**. The next prominent feature was the eyes. It was yellow in the iris, and what's so eye-catching about it was the accent of the eyes! It stared at Max with intention to injure, well, except one eye, which stared at a different direction.

"**D-Derpy?!**"

The mare screamed in a cute manner as she attempted to tackle the shit out of the clone. But her movement welcomed failure, tripping the poor pegasus. She skidded in the brick-laden side of the road, only to be launched by mere change of friction when she skidded onto the rough road cement. Somehow, her posterior went flying, crashing into the clone. He thought that her flank would deal minimal damage to his body. That's what he thought, until her flank made contact with his chest, launching him at a high speed. As he hit the pavement, he felt a surge of pain run through his back. With that, a loud thud came to be.

Derpy quickly ran towards the durable pony. "Did you see what I did?"

"Well, yes, in fact, I am a victim of it!" He shouted.

"That's great!" Derpy smiled with her eyes closed, which made Max slump in the pavement.

"_I guess no smart pony can continue arguing with this one."_ He gave out a groaning sigh.

"Hey, look, everypony!" A voice shouted, echoing from above. Before their eyes started to seek an outline of the owner of the voice, a sizeable amount of ponies leaked from the corners of the street, nervously approaching the lights of the street. As if it was a mess, they took some glances on the heroes and heroines scattered on the road like spilled marbles.

"Well, mission accomplished." He stood up to brush his clothes of dust. He regrouped with the five, as he led the young unicorn to Derpy. As he did that, one pony stood out.

"Thank you…thank you for saving us!" He smiled genuinely while shedding tears from the corners of his eyes.

Max simply smiled in reply. "It was nothing. By the way, I couldn't have done it without these ponies." He gestured to refer to the five.

The unicorn faced the crowd. "Everypony, let's cheer for them!"

"Hooraaaay!" The crowd roared.

"Victory over the dark guards!"

"Yeeeaaaahhh!"

"Victory of good over evil!"

"Yeah-heeeeeeey!"

"The destructive energy beam generated by Santa's laughing!"

"Hooorayyy!..." There was a pause that butted in for a moment, before they burst into cheerful laughter that spread quickly like a deadly contagion. The six found themselves laughing, even 'Max', except Nexus.

"Who said that?! That wasn't me!" The unicorn who encouraged the crowd to cheer asked.

"I did!" A **peach-colored** unicorn stepped out from the cloud of ponies. He wore all white with the help of his tuxedo, except for his tie, which was red. He had blue buttons that close the gap between the two panels of fabric, and had a butt cape that covered his behind nicely. He wore a white top hat with a blue strip. He stepped out boldly, with his radiant smile that could outshine the darkness. Max covered his eyes with his hoof from the brightness.

"And there goes his smile." The unicorn said.

"May I know your name?" Max asked.

"I'm **Dream Chaser**. Nice to meet you." He reached out his hoof to have a friendly hoofshake, but when Dream Chaser tried to shake his hand, he felt something was wrong.

"It's not working?!" Dream Chaser took a good look at his hoof, and touched Max's hoof again and again.

"Working what?" Max thought about it for a while. _"What malfunction is he talking about? Oh, maybe that charm…is he talking about?…oh…hehehe…"_

"Oh, that **joy buzzer **you're wearing?" 'Max' pointed to his hoof, which contained an ultra-slim buzzer, which was barely noticeable at arm-length.

"Yeah…wait, what?" Dream Chaser was surprised he was able to see through his device.

"Trying to make me feel electrocuted, now, would you?"

"Yeah, except it doesn't make you feel electrocuted…it actually **electrocutes **you!"

Stephen felt his blood speed up. "Whoa! What is the voltage?!"

"1.5…"

Stephen gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Celestia…"

"…**million**…"

"Wait, what!? You're trying to kill him!"

"Meh. Just testing if you are THAT strong…but you can't resist an electric shock." Dream Chaser's smile turned into surprise and wonder. "But how are you…?"

"Hmm-hmm-hmm." He made a soft, humming laugh as he blew some wind out of his mouth.

"Back in my village, if a ninja does things only reserved for the extraordinary, they earn an epithet blended with their name."

Sonata became more interested. "What are you talking about?"

Max brushed his hair. "They don't call me…the **shock therapist**…for nothing!"

"Whoa…" The six chorused, including Dream Chaser.

"Oh…so does that mean you cure ponies that had been **dropped** from a considerable height?"

With that, everypony fell silent.

"What the-?! Are you a high-schooler for real?" Sonata asked him.

"Yep. Been making a living by lighting up all those thirty streetlights at dusk using **my magic**, and blowing them off at dawn…or was it fifty? I lost count. But somewhere fifty is my best guess."

"Must be hard for a young student like you."

"For him, nothing is hard." The unicorn spoke. "Being paid for two bits for each lamp he lights up, 5 bits for fixing a lamp, and 10 bits for crafting and replacing another., Having a granted, but immediate and unexpected scholarship is more than enough to fill his spirit up. He has been here for one month: found him first on the street begging alms, then he saw a math teacher having problems on a written test of who-knows-what, that it took him thirty minutes before he went into desperation. He approached the teacher, and he miraculously solved it in less than a minute."

"Wow, what a legend."

"Fun fact: A storm came upon Canterlot once, eating up all those poor lamps."

But before Max could give his piece of compliment, two furiously-rotating chakrams hit at Max's left front leg's joint with such force enough to send him back several meters away while the slide raked dust on his cloak. Then, out came two pairs of dark pegasus guards, then finally, a dark unicorn guard floated. Everypony stepped back in fear as they made way for the menaces. The unicorn looked at the five with such anger and hatred.

"You…"

"Me?" Dream Chaser stood out confidently. From his smile, he looked like he doesn't know danger.

"No…but, I'd like to hurt you." The unicorn felt sharp pain ring through his **head**. "**He** still owes me a **punch**…"

"Well, nice to meet you..." Dream Chaser reached out a hoof to shake his hoof.

The unicorn looked at the hoof of the young pony.

"Alright…" He shook it uninterestedly, rolling his eyes while he made his hoof wave. But then, Dream Chaser gave a secret smirk. He knew he fell for it. He can't believe a dark guard let his guard down. With the power of his 'joy' buzzer, the current had a marathon at his neurons, overloading them with a million and a half volts. As the air crumpled, nopony ever helped the student. When the voltage died down, the guard looked like he took a beating from Zeus.

"One violent punch is enough to make my day! And you!..."

The unicorn grabbed the pony by the collar with his magic. Dream Chaser felt his life is slowly ticking away from the pressure enclosing on his neck. He struggled and wiggled, but it did not do any good.

"…you blew it! Prepare to die…" His horn charged up at the tip of it, emitting a dark glow. It grew until it equaled the size of a fully-stretched hand.

"I love this job! Hahahahaha!"

"_This is bad! __**I can't die**__**in this world!**__..." _Dream Chaser felt his cheeks wet. _"I love my mom and dad! I love them so much! There are so many things in this world, and __**where I live in, that**__ I need to explore! Think, think, think!"_

A loud thud shouted near Dream Chaser's ear. It sounded like metal striking a carpet on a tiled floor. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for air as he forced himself to get a catch on what's going on.

Dream Chaser looked at the figure standing over him. The first thing he saw was a metal golf club, in which a hand held it. He then saw the full body of Max, only that his left arm is missing and the baggy sleeve is torn bad, with hints of freshly dropped blood. He stared at the face, which he expected to be a face in pain. But no, he smiled wide like never before, like he recently owned a professional gamer in a video game.

Max lifted his chin up. "**I'm back, you subnormal halfwit!**" He said with a mix of French accent.

"Max…your…**your arm**!" Dream Chaser pointed at the bloodied part of his left shoulder. Max kept smiling as if he didn't hear his comment.

"The **pain** is only a small price to pay…I'm glad you're safe." Max smiled even wider.

"But…your arm…" Sonata said with a tone of sadness.

"Don't worry! It'll grow back!" Max happily snapped at her.

"Are you crazy? Body parts don't-" Sonata suddenly paused to see the arm. It was white, as dried bone, but Max locomoted the fingers. Then, tubes of blue and red grew along the bones, followed by red and white muscles that encased the bones and veins, before being wrapped in a nice, fresh, unscathed skin.

"Amazing!" The mayor remarked.

"Being able to regenerate in just a few seconds…only Celestia knows if he has a **hayflick limit** or not!"

"Can you demonstrate that technique?"

"**What technique are you talking about?**"

"_But speaking of techniques, I owe my dad one. He didn't tell me __**this cool jutsu coming up next…he hid it in his book all along!**__"_

Max raised an eyebrow as he coordinated it with his two arms spreading wide. At first, Sonata thought about his gestures and words.

"_What does he mean? Can't you see that what I'm talking abou-oh my…"_

Sonata took off her spectacles with her hoof. "Mother of Celestia…" Max heard this, and he replied with a smile.

"Yeahhh…" He pointed at her with two hands that each had an index finger and thumb sticking out.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Stephen became more interested in the unknown.

"He's trying to say-"

"Say what?" Stephen became unconsciously impatient for a split second, snapping in a time when he didn't want to do it.

"…that it's **never a technique**. Ever."

Stephen felt his lungs inflate. "Is he trying to say-"Sonata prevented any further talking by a simple nod.

"But let's not forget these baddies! Let's do this Drea-hey! Where did he go?" He looked around to where Dream Chaser was, but he was gone! Max tapped on his cloak to regrow the torn fabric using chakra, when he saw Dream Chaser at his left, holding Max's old, severed arm.

"Don't move! I'm armed." He levitated the arm to an oblique letter L, with the hand as if holding a revolver. With that, the ponies laughed, except for four, angry guards.

"Don't make fun of us!" The bravest of the remaining four shouted.

"Relax, guys! They're just making fun of me and my arm!" But that didn't help. A guard ran towards him with a sword in his mouth. Max received two slashes to the chest, but it did not make a wound. Instead, the blades broke! The two pegasi found themselves wet from perspiration.

"What'd you do that for?" Max kindly asked.

"W-who the hell are you?!" The two guards chorused while their broken swords were held like ice cream.

"Oh, me? I'm Max J. Andrews. Nice to meet you!" He replied by showing his grin. The two pegasi ran away back to their ranks.

Dream Chaser saw a guard flying towards him, when he crouched defensively and readied the severed arm by making it rest in his back.

"Fore!" He swung the arm as hard as his magic would permit, knocking off the guard away. Then, he said:

"And he got the ball."

"WHY ARE YOU MIXING **TWO SPORTS **AT ONE TIME?!" Max comically shouted at him.

"I always like crossovers." Dream Chaser gleefully replied.

Max quickly raised his left arm as he grinned, as if to show muscles, when that same unicorn guard who severed his arm appeared at a nearby roof. He jumped at Max, which the latter simply responded by taking a step back, knowing that he can't change direction in the middle of a short jump.

"Attacking from behind isn't fair!" He grabbed the guard by the head, and throwing it into the remaining three pegasi, which was bowled away shortly. But here's the catch: Thanks to the five guards earlier, they didn't tell there was an angry mob of guards at his back. Max found himself to be frozen in shock of finding out the location of the mob.

"Attacking all at once isn't fair either!"

He screamed while he put one foot after another. The mob of fifteen chased while they screamed and ran faster. All the while, Dream Chaser stood still, wondering why he was not chased. Max ran and ran, until he found a white, sturdy street lamp. He clenched it tightly using his left, while it **stretched** all the way to somewhere about ten meters from the pole. The guards stopped to look and see. By their surprise, they found the ninja running but stationary in one place.

"Waaaah!" The guards chorused.

Max turned around with his Sharingan lit. "Just kidding!" He smiled.

He felt the force of his arm persuading him to trip, but he stood tightly.

"**Gomu Gomu noooooooooooooo!...**" He yelled while readying his propulsion. The guards ran as fast as they could to avoid being hit.

"…**Rokketo!**" He let go of his legs, launching him at an unimaginable speed, violently knocking out the guards. He spun around, and landed on two feet, while he watched a guard gasp for air constantly.

"What the-how did-what is-…!?" Stephen suddenly had impaired speech.

"What are you!?" Dream Chaser asked.

"I'm a **rubber human**!" He hooked the inside of his cheek and stretched it by three inches, before he snapped it back.

"Amazing…" Natasha can't help but to give a compliment.

"This creature had more tricks up his sleeves than we've ever imagined! No wonder he was more than a match to that evil mare…" The mayor spoke.

"Max, watch out!"

"Huh!?"

He saw that unicorn yet again, but this time, he was carrying a large, iron club. It'=s protruding spikes imply that it's designed to add more crushing power to the already-devastating force of the club, being blunt and scattered on the side.

"This will end you hopefully!" The unicorn jumped and smashed the head of the ninja. A loud clang rang through everypony's ears, followed by the sound of pavement crack. Everypony fell silent as they witnessed the death of the human. For fifteen seconds, Max didn't respond.

"He's dead." Nexus sadly said.

"Finally got you, little brat!" The unicorn let out an evil laugh, praising himself as he kept his club resting on Max's head.

But then, Max secretly smiled, for he felt so rich seeing a pony feel proud from delusion.

"That won't work!" Max laughingly replied. Everypony leaned back discreetly as they gasped and whispered to themselves.

"Eh!?" The guard was very surprised that the human is still alive!

"I'm rubber!" Max kept the club pressing against him while he tilted his body to the left. With one, swift move, he parried the club with his fist, when it stretched all the way behind him up to over a hundred meters while he looked at his stretched arm.

"**Gomu Gomu no!...**"

Before he can finish, he can make out from the darkness a walking unicorn. No, it has its wings…it's an **alicorn**! He remembered the signature mane that composes of three colors.

* * *

Princess Celestia walked down on the street. She walked slowly and leisurely so that she can enjoy the sights, although it's quite dark thanks to Nightmare Moon.

"Brrr! It's so cold here…" She suddenly felt the coldness of the air seep in her golden shoes, not to mention her tiara as well.

Then, out from a distance, she can see something is approaching her very fast. She looked at the possible position of the said object, but she kept her ground. Then, when it was just a few meters close, she mistook it as a harmless object, so she stopped. But her composure broke – it was not just any harmless object, it was a fist! She suddenly jumped a bit, then she spread out her wings unconsciously.

"Poing!" The fist squeaked when the stretching is at climax.

"Oh hi, Princess!" Max greeted her.

"…**Pisutoru!**" The arm stretched back as his fist gathered speed. Stepping forward, Max held his right shoulder while he snapped his fist back. The guard didn't have time to react, and because of this, he was hit, and punched back to the air.

"Our leader is down! Retreat! Mission failed!" The guards flew into the air, hoping to find their captain in one piece.

The arm contracted to its normal form, snapping back and causing Max to wobble because of the stretching distance.

"So it's true." Dream Chaser walked towards Max while the latter turned around and faced the pony.

"What is true?"

"**The parallel universe theory**. This…is the ultimate proof that we got."

"Yep! But for now, we can't show it to the scientists…" Max said.

"But you did a great job back there! That was fantastic! Absolutely fantastic!" Dream Chaser smiled.

"Yeah, thanks-" Before he can finish, he suddenly collapsed, lying flat on the cold ground.

"Oh no!" Natasha rushed to the scene. She flipped his torso up, and placed a hoof on his neck. "He's kicking, but exhausted."

"Quick, everypony! Give him water!" The mayor ordered them, which some ponies replied with haste.

"What happened?" Dream Chaser looked at Natasha, while the latter arranged his legs.

"Seems like hero used too much energy." Natasha replied.

But his body refused to yield, as Max suddenly gasped a sizeable volume of air, and started panting. He can feel his body weigh so much, he can't move. Sonata gave him a glass of water, which Max slowly grabbed and drank all of it, not even sparing a drop. He placed the glass just beside him, while he sat like an Indian.

"Whoa! That consumed a chunk of my chakra!" He exclaimed while taking his last, few pants before his breathing returned to normal.

"What's going on?" A voice of a mare was heard.

"It's…the Princess…" The six bowed, including Dream Chaser, before the rest of the ponies bowed also.

"Yo, Princess!" Max smiled and waved a hand. Stephen knew that wasn't right.

"Why do you greet the Princess as if you were classmates?" he scolded him.

"Because that's the way I want to be treated." Stephen's eyes widened.

"I want to be treated not as a person that is being feared upon, but liked upon." Max smiled, and he stood up straight, brushing off the dust from his cloak. Dream Chaser approached the Princess and handed Max's severed arm, which looked freshly cut.

"And here's his arm!" He waved it in front of her, which caused Celestia to giggle.

"That arm…" Sonata kept a straight face as she walked towards the arm.

"We need to study it. Can you hand it over?" Sonata gave him some quite beautiful eyes.

"Okay!" He left the arm with Sonata. "Aww…I like that arm…"

"What?!" Max suddenly shouted.

"Nothing." Dream Chaser looked around him. He saw the magnificent castle that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna thrive in. He thought of getting to see the interior of the building. Then, one idea sprung up on his head.

"Max!"

"What?"

"I want to go to the castle! Can you take me?"

"Sure!" Max knelt down and clasped his hands. Then, he let wood grow on the pavement, shaping it and forming a Y-head slingshot. He ran up the structure by focusing chakra on his feet.

"That, too?!" Stephen was very surprised.

Max grabbed the two tips of the slingshot, and looked down on the ground.

"Ready?!" Max shouted.

"Always ready!" Dream Chaser shouted.

"Alright!" He leaned back, causing his arms to stretch yet again. "**Gomu Gomu noooooo!...**"

Princess Celestia became startled and unsettled, hopping off from her standing place and causing her wings to splay open at surprise's command. "W-what's happening?!" She stuttered.

"…**Ohanaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!...(…Sorry toooooooooo!...)**"

Dream Chaser hopped quickly onto his torso, stepping on it on all fours.

"…**shicyuni!(…Intrude!)**" And out there they launched themselves to the sky.

"Well, there goes the repair bill." Nexus looked at the slingshot.

Princess Celestia folded her wings slowly, her heartbeat returning to normal. "What was that?"

"It's the **Gomu Gomu **powers-uh, well…" Sonata felt her cheeks blush.

"Doesn't that sound weird? I mean, **'rubber body' spell** would be more appropriate, I guess." The mayor reasoned and complained about the lack of originality.

"Okay, I admit it. The attack moves and its power name are catchy, despite its language of foreign origin. Easy to memorize, too, thanks to a formula he uses to come up with such names." Sonata openly admitted.

"His way of attacking and utilizing his powers gave that impression of him not taking battles too seriously. Or maybe it's not an impression at all." Stephen looked at the night sky, hoping to get a glimpse of the two. "In fact, did you notice everypony feeling calm even what they are seeing involves life and death? His combat style involves silly movements to hit and crash into his opponents; that's why you had a feeling of peace despite it's not." With that, everypony nodded.

"Now, by under your permission, Your Highness…" Sonata declared.

"What request do you want to make?" The Princess asked.

"We would like to perform various experiments on a specific test subject."

"Can you state what name that subject holds?"

Sonata closed her eyes. "Max. Max J. Andrews."

The Princess did not expect that name to come up. "Him?"

"Yes. He who saved us all from being into history."

"But why?" She asked.

"He is a different being, not seen in this kingdom-no, scratch that, not in this world."

The Princess nodded. "I see. I agreed on what you said, for he entered a portal I accidentally made."

"By under your permission, we will perform various explorations and experiments on his body. We will all participate on the exploration end experimentation. No creature as sapient as him had been sighted apart from ponies, dragons, and griffons."

"I see." Princess Celestia yawned, then blinked a few times before training attention back to Sonata, trying to keep herself awake.

"Also, he knows about chakra and how to control it – an addition to the wonders of him while it cannot be performed by any creature so far."

"Not only that, but also his mastery over the art is at record performance!" Stephen butted in.

"In fact, if you see him doing extraordinary things, he looks like he's playing with magic!" Sonata added.

"I'm pretty sure that what all of these two said is more than convincing enough. Right, ma?" Natasha asked the Princess.

"Alright." The Princess agreed.

"HOLD IT!" A figure shouted, which drew the attention of the six. It was Max, but he posed by pointing at Celestia using his right index finger, while he stretched his right arm straight. His body aligned with the arm, while his left hand is on his waist.

"How are you?!..." Nexus was in shock.

"I kinda forgot to tell you…" Max scratched the back of his head. "About the experiment…"

"What? Don't you want to be experimented upon?" The Princess became concerned.

"Of course it would be a pleasure to be a test subject! If it doesn't involve brutal experiments, I'd agree. The only problem is…that **you're not the only ones who are interested in me.**"

"Well, who could it be?" The mayor asked. Max rolled his eyes in glee.

"Who do you think? She lives in Ponyville."

"A lot of ponies live in Ponyville."

"A unicorn…"

"Considerable," The mayor nodded for a brief moment. "but still not identifiable."

"She studies so hardcore, that she was the lone unicorn to ever both top the written and performance test…"

Princess Celestia wanted to tell him right away, but she kept it in herself to keep the thrill going.

"…and read true prophecy books, the content so twisted that may have sounded like a fairy tale to everypony…"

"Hmm…" Mayor Mare somehow can't put a hoof on it, but she met that unicorn before.

"Well?"

"I remember, but it's this purple young unicorn that answered Nightmare Moon."

"Correct! And her name is Twilight Sparkle. She's the Princess' student back when she was a little filly."

"Oh." The five shortly chorused.

"But experimenting on me is easy! Here!" Max grabbed a pair of white-tinted glasses to Sonata, which the latter took and put it on, setting aside her spectacles.

"Whoa!"

She looked at the body of Max. She saw the internal structure of the organs, saw the ribcage and the bones, and finally, a **blue network **running a course throughout his body. It contained dots mostly on the fingertips, and some on the other parts of the body. On the abdomen, lies a burning blue flame, which has patterns on the body of the flame.

"What is this blue-colored network?"

"It's my chakra network!"

"Yeah! Pretty-" Sonata stopped as she kept looking on the **hip** section.

"What's wrong?"

As soon as the last word came out, Sonata giggled, her cheeks blushing to a rosy red. She placed a hoof across her cheek.

"My, my. Max…you're…pretty huge…"

"No I'm not! I'm just slim, see?..." But, as he spoke, he took more time for consideration on what Sonata said. He realized where she is looking at!

"WHAT?!"

"It's true!" Sonata levitated the glasses, and placed it on Celestia's eyes. With that, the Princess smiled maturely.

"Maybe we can solve the problem later…" Princess Celestia kept gazing at the size of the thing.

"N-no, Your Highness!" Max nervously smiled, but Princess Celestia gave him the bedroom eyes.

"Oh, come on!" He dashed and snatched the glasses from the Princess.

"By the way, it's not used for peeping on someone's parts, you know." He said with utter seriousness.

"Sorry!" The princess giggled once more.

"Okay, we got that, but first of all, how did you manage to get here? I thought you slinged yourself away?" Stephen asked.

"Oh, I am just a shadow clone of him."

"How do you make shadow clones?" Nexus' interest rose.

"Well, first of all, you allocate chakra, or magic inside your body, then visualize where you want the clone to appear. By using the clone seal, you exercise control over your chakra. Then, poof!" And out came a figure who was identical. The six 'ooh'd over the jutsu.

"I'm the investigator…" Max kept his hands on his pocket in his jeans while he bent his head down.

"And I'm his partner in crime!" 'Max' grinned and rested his elbow on Max's left shoulder.

"Cool trick you have there!" Natasha gave a compliment.

"However, there is a recurring problem about shadow clones." Max punched 'Max' in the stomach, causing the clone to explode in a cloud of smoke.

"Even with one hit that is far from being fatal effectively disperses a shadow clone. So far, two hits were able to be sustained."

"So it's useless." Nexus stated with a dull tone.

"No, never useless. A group of shadow clones can act as a diversion, or distraction. In fact, **one ninja **proved the technique to be indispensable for combat or non-combat purposes."

"A clone gathers all the memories and experience while it exists. Let's just say you produced a clone and you trained together with it for an hour. When it disperses, you gain two hours worth of experience under in a span of an hour. Rinse and repeat, and you'll find your performance improve exponentially."

"Awesome! I like this…makes me wanna try!" Nexus felt his blood heat up.

"In addition to its flaws, the amount of chakra used depends on the number of clones, as each clones receives an equal distribution of chakra. If you use them frequently, you use up chakra fairly quickly, and it may cause fatigue."

" Doesn't matter, had clones! " Nexus sang.

"Let us not keep ourselves waiting: we got some experiment to do." Natasha suggested, as he kept her eyes emotionless, still.

"Let me stop you right there. Because he who slinged there, is just one of the many clones."

"So where's the real one?" The Princess asked.

"Probably in the ruins, fighting off your sister. And shouldn't you be surprised by what you asked?"

"Ok, let's head to the Canterlot Castle!" The mayor declared.

"Ok, form a circle around me." Max ordered the six. The group quickly assembled while Max waved some hand seals. Then, a dome of blue energy engulfed the circle of ponies.

"What's happening?" Stephen looked around for a few times before facing the center.

"**Chronosphere!**"

* * *

**Some minutes prior of Max's launch…**

"Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Max enjoyed the air rushing into his face, as he flew with Dream Chaser. His face numbed from the cold temperature.

"So, you are a human?" Dream Chaser asked.

"How did you know?"

"Because I am, too!"

"What?!"

"Yeah! Somehow, I ended up with an alicorn body!"

"Awesome-what?!"

"Let's talk about the problem later…" Then, faster than they could put their hands and hooves in front to reduce the impact, they crashed on a non-tinted window pane. It shattered the whole material, sending its sharp, jigsaw puzzle pieces rolling on the ground. When the force died down, the two stood up.

"Oh no! We gotta fix this!" Max held his head, crumpling his sideburns.

"Don't worry, Max! We can use one of those." He pointed to a table, with some carpentry tools. There is a spare window pane that had the shape of the window frame.

"Ok, this shouldn't take long." Dream Chaser levitated the window pane and placed it on the frame. He sealed it tightly, before picking up the glass shards and placing it on the table.

"You really got some skill on fixing, right?"

"Nah, I still have a problem."

"What's that?"

"I can't make my wings and horn show up at the same time!" Dream Chaser focused to display his wings. The next thing Max knew was the horn is now concealed. The former focused again to display his horn, which in turn, concealed is wings.

"What the actual fuck?" Max scratched his head.

"Yeah."

"We'll have to ask about Princess Celestia later; guess she created two portals. But for now…" Max ran, but not as fast as a normal run would. He went to a window, and opened the two window panes by swiveling a lever that locked it. He sat on the edge of the window, seeing the sights while the wind sings him to sleep. He brought out his Springfield rifle strapped on his body, and held it in two hands while his legs dangle.

"What a beautiful sight. I love the place." He took a measure of air to his lungs, then he breathed it out.

"I guess you're from…**Divine Radiance High School**?" Dream Chaser asked.

"Why, yes, I am. What a very fancy name for **Divine Light Academy**."

"Tell me about it."

"Hmm." Max ended the conversation by emitting a short, hum sound. He looked at the Everfree Forest, seeing the ruins. He took a good look, and realized the ancient castle is glowing with a dull radiance.

"So…how is 'your' battle with Nightmare Moon?"

"Umm…" Max noticed some shining spots in the Everfree Forest. From the looks of it, it seems they are moving towards the castle. Max investigated the shining spots by a rifle scope, and his face turned into somewhat sad.

"What?"

"You know when the grownups say that everything's gonna be fine, but you think they're lying to make you feel better?"

"Yeah…although they're on abroad." Dream Chaser nodded slowly.

"Everything's gonna be fine."

"What?!"

Dream Chaser looked out from the window. He could see shining dots on the Everfree Forest. Max observed it with the scope.

"Epic camo fail…" He smiled as he kept spotting those shining spots.

"What are they?"

"Dark Royal Guards." He swiveled the rifle to the right, while spotting more guards. "**So ironic. They should have dulled the shine off their headgears with mud or leaves…**"

"Can't tell if their headgears are that polished or the Moon is trying to be the Sun!"

"But either way, we need to stop them, quick!"

Max grabbed a walkie-talkie. "Need support up here." He grabbed a flashlight and made the light blink at the Bullfrog.

"Let's send the **Big One**!" The three clones scrambled to fill the ammo boxes with ammunition filled to the brim. One clone replied with the walkie-talkie.

"We okayed the request for support. We're sending out a **cardboard box** as we speak."

"Alright…" He held the sniper rifle steadily. With one swift shot, he took out a guard. Four guards paused and looked at the fallen guard. This gave him an opportunity to take out the remaining four. One by one, the guards fell down.

"Thanks for standing still, wanker!" He spoke with an Australian accent.

"Max, a cardboard box!" Dream Chaser pointed to the sky.

"Grab it!"

"This should be easy!" Dream Chaser properly positioned himself to catch the box. But, by the speed of the box, it snagged the alicorn right in the head, providing a hard time for the alicorn to recover.

"Box!" Max immediately grabbed the box and dashed to place it just under the window.

He opened the receiver and inserted a fresh clip at the ejection port. He closed the receiver, and aimed again.

"That's five…six…seven…eight!" He pulled the trigger and ejected a spent round, one after another.

"That hurts!" Dream Chaser yelled while he held his head.

"Of course it hurts! Be scared if it tickles!" Max kept shooting down guards, almost making it look like it's his hobby.

"Hmm…" Max stuck his eye on the scope, while he inserted another clip. He noticed that a group of spots charged through the forest.

"I gotta say sorry to Princess Celestia later…" Max took another sniper rifle. It has the same design as the M700, but it has a thick, grey barrel with an appealing luster. In addition to its decoration, it has a red line wrapped on the end of the barrel. It also has a scope, and a handsome wood finish. The insertion port has only a room for a bullet. He took a red bullet, which was quite heavy, and put in the receiver. He sealed the receiver which has no shaft, but has an automatic slide sealer.

"What's that?" Dream Chaser asked.

"Say hello to my little friend…" He fired the bullet, which went in the forest. A few seconds later, it mad a loud boom, obliterating a large clump of trees. Dream Chaser saw some holes in the rifle stock, which spew out smoke. He coughed on the smoke, causing him to get to the left of Max. The receiver automatically ejected the shell, which made Max push it back again.

"Hmm…they seem to be retaliating. Quick, **cover me**."

"Right! Uh…" Dream Chaser hastily entered a room and closed the door behind to search for an **item**.

"Dream Chaser?" There was no response. Then, he felt something hung on his back.

"There! A comfy blanket will be nice."

"I said cover me! Ugh, whatever, that was a false alarm, anyway."

"Alright, let's go rooftop! Take the box." Max kept a watchful scoped eye on any sign of threat while Dream Chaser turned his flying mode on and took the box by his teeth.

"Why?" Max heard a voice. It's so familiar.

"Well…" He turned around and saw a group of ponies.

"Guys! You're here!" Max waved and took the thick rifle. "'Max'!" He threw the rifle for the clone to catch.

"Use the awesome-looking binoculars." 'Max' grabbed the rifle and took out a pair of binos. It has two lenses on the back, but it converges into one at the front.

"Ha! **Kept you waiting, huh?**" He strapped the binos on his forehead, then joined the two.

"What's happening here?" Mayor Mare asked.

"What do you think are you doing?!" The Princess shouted, which made the ninja wonder. He looked at his back, which made him very surprised. It was Princess Celestia's personalized blanket, a feature you can tell by the sun designs all over it.

"Wanna take a look outside?"

The six went and looked out of the window. They saw a cluster of shining spots, just like what the two are seeing earlier.

"How beautiful…" Nexus felt his eyes widen.

"Not." Max perched on the opening of the window. "They are the Dark Royal Guards."

"Why are they shining?"

"Some dumb commander said 'Let's make our helmets shiny so that we can boast about how clean they are!'" Max spoke in a comical manner.

"Anyway, let's go!" The three climbed up to the rooftop.

"Over there! Behind a tree! Has a shiny helmet!" Dream Chaser kept on providing unspecific details.

"Would you serious up and just tell me where they are?!" Max looked at Dream Chaser, eye to eye.

"Okay, three on your left." Max immediately shot their heads off.

"Any sign of weird phenomenon over there?" Max asked 'Max', who was busy with his binoculars.

"No, not yet." 'He' shook his head lightly.

"Four on the right…" And Max quickly reloaded and locked the receiver.

"Hey…is that?" 'Max' finally sighted something.

"Hmm…"

What they saw is a large, covered carrier. It ran on treads, and it traveled at turtle pace, while trees drop dead as the colossal object trampled on it. On the sides, it was bored with a few holes that can act as firing ports. It was filled with guards, and it looked scary by its sheer size and weight, almost rivalling an average-sized house.

"Holy mackerel…"

"The mother of all carriers." Max paused and looked at the object. "Can you try using explosives?"

'Max' knelt down and aimed at the side of the carrier. He fired a shot, expecting a hole as large as half an upright door. But instead, the bullet simply exploded when it hit, leaving a round, flat layer of soot on the side of the carrier. The guards retaliated by launching a volley of arrows towards them. The three immediately left their positions as the arrows sunk good right in the concrete.

"That didn't work…the defense is quite tight." 'Max' scratched his head as Dream Chaser lowered his head to observe the arrows.

"Yeah, and they didn't seem to care about the carrier being hit by that. How thick is the armor, exactly?"

Then, Dream Chaser lifted all the arrows in the roof, with his horn, of course. The alicorn snapped off the wooden body of the arrows, and looked at Max.

"Can you melt these?" Max replied by blowing scorching fire on the arrows. It glowed so hot, that Dream Chaser felt his eyes dry up after Max heated the metals. He then fused the metals together. Molding it, shaping it, and smoothing it with his magic, he let the material cool down.

"Now for the best part…"

Dream Chaser took out a normal-sized pineapple.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Max lashed out at the alicorn. He looked at the metal, and it was shaped to match a double-edge sword plus the hilt.

"Trust me, it'll work. So, anyone got explosives?"

"Yeah, but I only had an anti-tank mine and a frag grenade." 'Max' replied and took out the mine and grenade from his satchel that was quite hidden well behind the clothing.

"Good! It'll be so perfect, it makes me wanna record it!"

While Dream Chaser smiled to himself, Max and 'Max' looked at each other in confusion, each raising an eyebrow to the other.

"Do you have any idea on how this will work out, Max?" 'Max' looked at the mine and grenade he's holding.

"I don't know, either. Damn, am I missing a detail here? I mean, why do I find the mine and grenade the only important things that can be used? Why a piece of sword and a frickin' pineapple must be utilized?" Max scratched his head. "Are you trying to make a joke here?"

Dream Chaser decided to keep the thrill. "I got the plans all covered, no need to worry about it. But let me ask you one thing…are you ready to rock?…" He gave a devilish smile.


	17. From The Other Eyes, Last Part

**Chapter 17**

**From The Other Eyes – Final Part + Knowing Friends**

Grammar update: Yeah, so I had IcySapphire15 correct the grammar in my chapter. Thank you Icy, for correcting this chapter.

Max ran swiftly, but kept a low profile. He hid from tree to tree, flattening himself to fit on a trunk from the perspective of anyone looking on the opposite side of Max. He kept doing this, sweating out of nervousness and the danger following the carrier.

"I hope I have faith as much as he does." Max talked to himself.

"So here's the plan. We take these boom-booms under the carrier. Place them, dead center underneath it, so we get the most out of the weak spot." Dream Chaser said.

"But we haven't even checked the underside for any weak areas!" 'Max' complained.

"That's where this mini sword comes in." Dream Chaser levitated the sword. "You pat the underside with the tip of the sword. Make it tentative, so no guard will suspect a planned knocking."

"Are there any tools to attach the land mine?" Max asked.

"Well, I have this glue!" Dream Chaser brought out a messy bowl of white, sticky glue.

"How are we going to stick it with that?!" Max and his clone chorused.

"Hey, don't underestimate it. I heard that a traveler almost died from starvation because of this glue."

"_Yeah, because he sealed his lips, dumbass,"___Max grumbled to himself.

"Anyway, after you have placed the mine upright, throw the sword into the tread gears. That'll disable the carrier, but it won't be long, faster than you can say…**Eric von Stroheim**!"

Max and his clone tried to say the name, but they ended up spitting a drizzle of saliva on the roof.

"Place the pineapple on a tread and hide until the guards go back up."

"Wait, why does the pineapple matter?!" 'Max' shouted.

"Obey, then complain. That's what them **CAT** cadets in the fourth year taught the candidates for the next **CAT** officers in the third year, right?"

"But we haven't even received a **Citizenship Advancement Training **yet!"

"Whatever. Just do what I told you. Thank me later for the free lesson. And keep me in contact with your earpiece, because you don't know what nefarious things will happen if you didn't."

"Well, hope you're right." He tiptoed quickly behind the carrier. He took the anti-tank mine, and twisted a little switch in the middle. He spread some glue on the top, and set it aside. He took the sword, and like what Chaser reminded, he tapped it tentatively on the under, so that it almost sounded like bumps on the road.

"Do you hear that?!" Max heard a guard shout.

"Oh no," Max immediately hid behind a bush. He made an opening just small enough to watch the carrier and listen to the conversation.

"Backup, prepare for immediate deployment!" And from a hole on top, out came one, two, three, four guards that quickly scattered out and formed a box around the carrier.

"Chaser." Max connected to the other side.

"What? You need pancakes?" Dream Chaser asked.

"Not this time! I realized we made a big miscalculation." Max looked at the guards. "Yep, big miscalculation."

"What is it? Did we miss a number?"

Max replied. "No, rather we missed a possibility. We didn't consider the enemy sending escorts around the transport."

"Use some kind of diversion that drives their attention away. Do it until they can't send reinforcements anymore."

"Got it, Chaser." Max touched the earpiece to raise the communications barrier. "Well, I don't mind killing them if I can use tactical espionage…"

Max quickly rustled the leaves of a nearby bush, loudly enough to be heard. The nearest guard immediately charged his horn and aimed at the bush. It sent a slug of magic that hit the bush, obliterating its branches and leaves. By reflex, Max sucked air from the cavities of his clenched teeth.

"Crap! I didn't know they were THAT aggressive!" he said to himself.

"Calm down, boy," the next guard told the aggressive one.

"It might be a bunny, but I don't care," the aggresive guard turned to move again along with the carrier. Max peeped from the bushes again, activating his earpiece.

"I dunno…somehow…there were small holes in the side of the carrier. That must be the way they fired back at us."

"Good observation, but the plan goes on."

Max began by producing three shadow clones. Then, the nearest clone to Max grabbed four shuriken, and took a leap forward. He made the shuriken fly at great speed, taking out the guards with relative ease. The three clones and Max rushed quietly to catch the bodies, and prevent it from making noise.

"It'll be good to take these out of the way." So the clones Max created, with himself, scattered and hid the bodies. When they tried to follow the carrier at a similar and cautious pace, they saw the face of a guard who got his own weapon pissed, or so as to say, urinated upon, by a colt. It was looking on the other side, searching for his lost guards.

"What?!" His reddened eyes glowed as he felt his teeth reshape. "Backup units, deploy now!"

"Oh, shit." Max produced another clone, and then he transformed it into a slab of metal that looked like a landmine. He ran swiftly as he can towards the rear, where Max thought the guards would land. Then, he ran back to his hiding place.

"There, that'll do." The backup gathered at the top and waited until their fourth member appeared.

"Alright, drop off!"

The four guards immediately dropped off, falling at the place where the landmine was, at the same time. One of their hooves struck the landmine-transformed clone, setting off a blast that sent the bodies to their graves.

"How-?!" The guard exclaimed. "Guards, do an **arrow sweep**!"

"Aye!"

"Arrow sweep…?" Max tapped his clones to hide underground. "Dig and follow under the carrier." The group dug under using the **Hidden Mole** jutsu.

"Now!" They heard the commander of the guards shout, and right after they finished submerging their bodies under the earth, the left and right sides of the carrier shot out a flurry of sharp arrows, piercing trees and coating the ground with projectiles. After a few seconds, it stopped. The guards looked out on the holes of the carrier.

"I'll plant the mine." Max spread another layer of glue, and held the mine against the craft long enough for the glue to dry. When he felt that the mine was rigid enough on the under, he let go of his hands. He burrowed again to the ground.

"Well, our arrows never failed to clear an area of pesky pests." With those words, the commander of the guards ordered the carrier to keep moving. After that, Max and his clones hid on the nearest bush.

"It sure is risky," a clone said.

"Just a question: did you plant the two?" another clone asked.

"Yeah…uh-" he suddenly remembered what he did there. "Shit."

"Now, what are we gonna do?"

"Well, I guess we're gonna detonate the mine by grenade…manually." The group carefully stalked the carrier, being careful not to trigger another alert. They reached for the side of the carrier, where they heard somepony repeatedly shouting a word. "Pedal! Pedal!"

"What…are they thinking?" A clone asked.

"So that's how they are strong…they can pedal a house-sized carrier. Scary, huh?" Another clone answered.

"Alright, let's do this." Max playfully twirled the sword in his fingers while waiting for perfect timing. He grabbed the pineapple by the spiky leaves, and threw the sword in the tread gears. It made a loud, metal squeaking sound, then, finally, a loud snap, that stopped the carrier in its tracks. Max quickly placed the pineapple on the affected left tread, and hid again behind the bushes. He activated his Sharingan, just in case he needed to read the lips of the guards and pick up the conversation.

"Wait for it…"

Two unicorn guards popped the carrier opening on the top, and dropped on the **right **side. So close to the sword, it caused Max to sweat.

"_Oh no! Wrong side!" _Max felt dying.

"Ugh, do we have to do this again?" one of the guards complained.

"Come on now. If we don't do this, I'm pretty sure **Master** would be angry at us. Go check the **underside**, I'll check the treads."

The guard checked the left treads first, while the other bent down to check the underside.

"Nothing here…I'll try the other side."

"Hmm…" The guard tried to squeeze under the carrier, but his head just won't fit. He removed his helm, and attempted to look underneath again, but such failure without his helm deterred him.

"Hey…" He looked closely, and sighted a slab of metal attached to the underside.

"What is that…"

"How did we run into this?" The guard checked the gears of the left tread, and looked closely. He could see broken, glimmering pieces of metal on the treads. He focused his magic to get the metal splinters out of the treads, causing a scraping sound.

"Hmm…" The guard observed the mine. "Could it be…?"

"All done! Get out of there!" The guard checking the treads waited for his partner to come out. As he waited, he accidentally turned his head and saw a pineapple sitting peacefully on the tread. He picked it up, and called his partner one last time.

"Hurry up! We got something to eat!"

"Really?!" The guard let his tongue dangle from his mouth as he picked up his helmet.

"Coming!" He caught up to his partner and got back again at the hatch.

"Phew. I thought the mission would fail. Boom-boom time." Max walked slowly to the carrier, and pulled the grenade from his cloak. He pulled the pin, and placed it under the carrier. But, instead of covering his ears and hiding, he walked away slowly, not even taking time to look back. After six seconds, he heard the explosion occur, but he kept walking calmly away.

After a while, he quickly jumped into the trees and regrouped with his friend, and his useless clone who did nothing but stare at the event the whole time.

"Good job, Max."

"Thanks, but how…how did you know it would work?"

"First!" Dream Chaser lifted his head up. "A mine could take out that carrier, with the weak spot, of course. Second! Rotating gears are the easiest to sabotage. Just throw a long and strong piece of string, be it cotton or nylon, and watch it destroy itself. And finally! They were stupid enough."

"All because of observation?"

"All because of observation," Dream Chaser replied.

"Well! The moment has passed! Back to work!" Max happily took the box, and tentatively slid down. The two followed.

"Princess!~ We're done!" Max came in the window smiling. But then, the smile was short-lived, as he dropped the box when he saw a large number of Dark Royal Guards in the room. They held all the six down – even the Princess, with a **spell**.

"Oi! It's that **strange monster**!" The guards laughed, but to Max's surprise, it was not hiss-like. Rather, it was more of a pony laugh. Max kept his mouth silent.

"We got your little friends, beast!" A guard teasingly said. "They are held under a powerful spell that can only be dispelled by a **disrupting **force." Max saw the six all tied up by metal chains enchanted with magic.

"And see that line?" A guard pointed out on the floor. It glowed neon red, with a rectangular grid covering the area in front of the guards and their hostages.

"If a **pony** steps on it, he'll burn…to ashes!" The guards laughed merrily. Max kept quiet.

"Oh, one last thing…" The unicorn guard who spoke first barricaded the windows with a thin coat of purple magic energy. "Escaping spoils the fun." But by the time the guard said that, Chaser and his clone were already in, but Max suddenly smiled.

"Oh well, it can't be helped then…" Max took something from the box. It was a **blue sakkat hat**, with a blunt top. He placed it on his head, and looked at the guards.

"What now? You're gonna kill us with that look?" The guards laughed once more. They were so noisy, Dream Chaser felt his ears getting stuffed with all that laughing.

"Laugh at your own risk…" The guards suddenly stopped and looked at him.

Max froze. Then, his Akatsuki cloak's cloud symbols began to recolor itself into blue. An electric buzzing constant spark sound filled the room, as his clenched clamped fists began to produce lightning. He raised his chin, and a smile is what they saw.

"Let's dance!" Max started the fight by forming a Rasengan using lightning-natured chakra. It formed into a ball, which he threw at one of the guards, knocking him off instantly.

"What the-?!"

"Thank you for capturing them. I was looking for a reason to fight you."

"Guards, attack!" The guards rushed in, each biting a sword in his mouths. Max closed his eyes and focused chakra around him. Then, as the guards closed on him, he jumped to the ceiling, leaving a non-locomotive **static remnant** of himself. When the guards came in contact with the remnant, lightning exploded, electrifying the guards and causing them to seize uncontrollably. They dropped on the floor, knocked out.

"You!" The guard used his magic to tighten up the spell that binds the six tight. Princess Celestia yelped from pain of the cuffing.

"What?" Max slowly walked towards the **red line**.

"Hah!" The guard scoffed off. "If you take one step there, you're done for!"

"Really?" Max indeed took one step. "But, alas, nothing happened! I don't see myself in the afterlife right now."

"How did you not die?!"

"First of all, this spell only works for **ponies**! 'Max'! **Dream Chaser**! Come over here!"

"Ok!" 'Max' took a step, and like his master, he didn't burn. "Wow!"

"Uhh…I don't know about it, guys, but are you sure?" Dream Chaser looked at the line with great fear.

"Come on! Hop in!"

"Okay!" Dream Chaser closed his eyes and took a quick step. But, he opened his eyes, and saw that he was still alive!

"I can't burn!" Dream Chaser exclaimed as he tapped his hooves in quick succession.

"What the-?! I've seen many ponies burn with the spell – why you three just die?!" the guard expressed shock and disappointment.

"My clone and I are human – that's why we are immune." Max explained.

"But that unicorn over there?!"

"You decide!" Max smiled while he snapped back. "Is he really a pony? Or is he **something else**?"

The Keepers' ears stood straight up when they heard him. Sonata's mouth fell open as she trembled. "You can't be serious…"

"Well?" Max raised his right eyebrow?

"No matter! You still can't beat me!" The guard focused energy on his horn, making it glow bright purple. As seconds passed, Max felt the air become unsettled.

"Max, quick! He's gathering energy. You need to stop him!"

"Too late!" The guard's hair stood up as Max felt a large amount of energy rush past his hair. The guard's eyes changed from snake-like to pony-like, and with a big grin on his face, he focused energy on his horn. It built up so fast, Max hadn't time to react, before the blast of energy engulfed Max first, before sending the ninja painfully flying to the wall.

"That hurts!" Max could barely move from the pain as he tried to recuperate.

"You think you can take on Nightmare Moon's personal army?" The guard walked briskly towards Max. "Just so you know, my name is **Creeg**!"

"Creeg?!" The Princess exclaimed.

Sonata turned her head to listen. "You know him?"

The Princess's eyes began to leave show traces of a deep sadness. "He was one of our top guards…until he sided with my sister…"

"That's awful!" Sonata gnashed her teeth. Then, she noticed Max slowly moving, but still slumped on the wall.

"Give up now. You'll only hurt yourself." Creeg stood in front of Max.

The latter kept his slumped position, but he started to speak. "Why bother telling your name?"

This greatly insulted Creeg. "Why you-?!" Creeg picked up his cloak while he talked to Max. "Do you think I'm just some ordinary guard? Well, if you like to think that way, you are making a grave mistake!"

Max paused for a while. "I'll forget that name anyway. How was it spelled? D-U-M-B?"

Creeg growled at Max's insult. He raised his right hoof up, and tried to hit the ninja in the noggin, but Max quickly raised up his head, and stopped his hoof with a single hand.

"Hey! G-get it off!" Creeg repeatedly attempted to retract his hoof, but it was useless.

"Sharingan." Max lit up his eyes.

"What is that?!" Creeg looked at the marks and color of Max's eyes. Then, suddenly, Creeg received a kick on his chin, then a roundhouse on his cheek. As Creeg settled on the floor, so did is Max's right leg.

" You can't even dodge my movements."

Creeg responded with an angry face and an attempt to punch him with a hoof. But he missed, so instead he used his hoof to latch on the ground and sweep the ninja's feet. But, Max jumped in time.

"Let alone hit me. Is that what it takes to be remembered? Oh, maybe you got a point." Max settled on the floor. "Here lies the tomb of the unskilled soldier!"

"Why you-!" Creeg rushed in to hit him again, but Max did something to peculiar. To put it in a descriptive way, his body became a mass of lightning power that traveled at blinding speed from one place to another. And that other place is Creeg's back, which the bastard was just about to run. Max formed the **Electric Rasengan** from his hand, but the added strange thing is this: blue lightning surrounded the Rasengan in a shape of a flame.

"Lightning fire?" Sonata squinted just to make sure her eyesight was correct.

"Seriously…" Max hit Creeg with the Rasengan, electrifying Creeg. Then, a ring of chakra formed around his feet. In the middle of the ring, a cord of lightning latched on Creeg's back, pulling him towards the ring.

"What's this? I can't…move...!" Creeg struggled to put his muscles in motion. But, even with him trying as hard as he could, he could only feel like being tied tightly to a metal frame that conformed to his body.

"If you say you are strong…" Max formed another special Rasengan and threw it to the tied hostages. As the Rasengan dissipated on contact with the spell, the cuffs binding the six suddenly popped open. Max then turned to Creeg and turned the spell surrounding him.

"…then you must know your strengths and weaknesses. All I can see from you is reckless fighting, badmouthing and boasting. Is that strength?"

Creeg hastily ran back to the knocked out soldiers. Shortly after reaching them, the guards slowly regained consciousness. Max crossed his arms, his hands tucked under his crossed arms.

"Leave this place."

"No!" Creeg shouted, when the guards held their swords once again in their mouths. Max brought out his katana, and held it in one hand.

"Okay. Death wish granted."

This made the guards so frightened, that even Creeg jumped out of the window. Those with the ability to fly, flew out the windows. Those who do not, did what Creeg did and simply jumped.

"Chickens…" Max sheathed his katana.

Sonata smiled. "Thank you for saving us!"

"Nah, it was just my job. I can't let you guys stay locked up." Max turned to Celestia. "Although, I can't imagine you being caught off-guard."

"It might be one of my sister's powerful magic spells. She's quite the caster, you know," Princess Celestia sighed.

"Anyway, I'm hungry." Max kept the sakkat to the box, and closed it. His blue-colored designs on his Akatsuki cloak reverted to red. "I'm going to go to a restaurant. Gonna order borscht."

Natasha stood up. "Well, why don't we all go eat?"

"You too, Princess." Stephen invited her. "You should take a break from your responsibilities as the ruler of this kingdom."

"Well…" Princess Celestia looked away, and into the glowing ruins, still visible even with the thick swatch of trees. "I do like to eat, but I'll be leaving immediately after I finished my dish."

"No worries Princess. We understand" Mayor Mare smiled.

"Well, if you don't mind…" Dream Chaser snuck inside Celestia's bedroom, while everypony looked at him. After a few seconds, he came out, with a bar of chocolate on his head, being levitated by magic.

"I'll take this as tribute."

"Paid in full." Princess Celestia nodded and smiled.

The real Max sighed out of disappointment.

"Hey, hey, hey! Is this one of your girlfriends, Max?" Deidara asked him about Twilight.

"N-no! Why would you say that?" Max's cheeks blushed quite obviously, and shook his head. "I'm not that handsome, am I?"

"Your blushing tells otherwise, hm," Deidara gave him a soft smile.

"Hell no!" Max responded, with a little more blush.

"Ok, stop you two…" Itachi interfered.

"Well, it's very rare to see you in a dive like this…beyond the grave…" Kisame smiled.

"Well, everything's fine…how 'bout-" Max stopped. He looked at Zetsu – he wasn't two-faced or a plant weirdo anymore. Instead, his skin is of human complexion, and he smiled without the other face frowning.

"Hey, where's Black Zetsu?" Max asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Still living in the world," Zetsu yawned.

"Well, how about you, Jiraiya?" Max turned. "Are your books a hit here?"

"Now that you mention it…" Jiraiya looked up at the sky. "These ponies in Ponyville do not appreciate my masterpiece, but instead, I sold them in another place! I earned tons of money!"

"_You know, Ponyville residents are not fond of sexually explicit material. Pervert. But I can't seem to believe that there were kinds of ponies like him." _Max thought to himself.

"Well, what do you got for me, Twi?"

Twilight froze in place, not knowing what to do first. Should she ask who those people are? Or should she answer? "Well, um…" Twilight thought for a moment. "I found an empty room for you three to stay in. Until her Highness finds a house for you, you can stay at the library."

"Okay! Naruto!"

Naruto turned to Max. "Huh?"

"Hey, why don't you go meet those ponies who defeated Nightmare Moon, and get to know more about them? I'll catch you later, Twilight."

"Alright! Let's go Naruto, I'll take you to the library in no time!" Twilight once again focused energy on her horn, and with a lash of the whip, Twilight and Naruto disappeared.

"Haha, you're gonna meet her later?" Deidara asked.

"But of course." There was awkward silence between Deidara and Max.

"…**WHERE?!**" Itachi smiled and snapped when Max least expected.

"YIEEEEEEEE!" The whole Akatsuki, including Jiraiya, teased the latter with a shout.

"Seriously…couldn't this day get any worse?" Max arched his back from annoyance.

"Itachi, I knew you were on my side!" Deidara gave him a smirk.

"I just can't resist the temptation of joining you!" Itachi gave Deidara a high-five. Itachi performed a slam dunk on the air. "Score! 50 points! Woo-hoo!" Itachi felt the need of doing that in order to cheer the Akatsuki up.

"Ooh, looks like our Max finally found a special somepony!" Kanon smiled and placed her palms together.

"Well…" Yahiko spoke up. "…it's perfectly normal for a female to find his face…enchanting."

Max kept quiet while his eyes became darkened from the shadows cast by his hair. His cheeks blushed all the more that he can't hold it off. He felt a mix of feelings that he can't determine. But dominantly, Max felt laughing, yet embarrassed at the same time.

"_How do these guys make me blush so much?! Damn!"_

"Oh well…" Max faced Ponyville, as air blew across his hair. "I'm gonna brisk jump to meet her. Until then, take care." Max transformed into his disguise, and started to jump from house to house, but decided to take his time by walking, so he jumped off the edge of the roof and onto the street.

"Ah, I can't believe that good ol' **Mr. Bones** gave us another chance!" Kisame remarked.

A loud spark of magic disturbed the near-tranquil silence of the library. As Twilight and Naruto suddenly popped in the middle of the first floor, Naruto took a look on at his body, eyeing his skin, his hands, and turning to see the two sides of his face when he saw a mirror.

"Alright!" Naruto transformed back to his disguise, bearing the same characteristics as of what Twilight saw.

"Somehow, I feel comfortable with that look." Twilight gave a smile before a voice shouted.

"Twilight!" Spike ran down the stairs. "Where have you been?"

"Well…" She paused for a while, which prompted Naruto to turn his head and wink his other eye.

"Um, I was gonna check up on Max, and inform him about the new room."

Spike's face grew into disappointment. "That should be my room."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Oh Spike, you know that those three needed shelter."

Naruto wondered for a moment. "Wait, how did you know we don't even have a single house?"

"The Princess spoke with me. She said that I must make room for you three to stay in."

"Oh…makes sense." Naruto looked around on the library shelves. "You sure got a collection."

"Thanks!" Twilight gestured to Spike, that he should go upstairs so that Spike doesn't butt in on her conversation.

"How many books have you been reading?" Naruto kept looking at the shelves.

"About 65 books. 26 was science, 26 was magic, 12 stories and 1 forgotten legend."

"Wow, you sure are a bookworm." Naruto faced Twilight. "But no offense…" He paused, because he knew that even saying "No offense", his remark would still offend Twilight, so he waited for a response.

"Go ahead…" Twilight's tone didn't sound angry.

"…but why do you find reading books a delight?"

Twilight smiled, for she knew her answer. "Don't you find reading books interesting? I mean, my thirst for knowledge is insatiable!"

"What could be interesting in books? All I can see is text, and nothing more."

Twilight paused and thought of some words to explain her passion.

"Oh, so that's why. You're still a little colt, I see."

Naruto shouted. "No I'm not!"

"You're not that smart, are you? Well…"

"I'm smart, you'll see!"

Twilight giggled and rolled her eyes. "How could a pony say he's smart when reading books are his subjects of detest?"

"By trying him out," a voice answered. Twilight turned around and saw Max.

"Max!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Don't be fooled, Twilight."

"Why?"

Max walked slowly in front of Naruto, and stood still. "Behind that childish personality, lays a serious, calm, and calculating mind." Naruto and Max looked at each other in the eye. Then, Max panned his head away and turned to Twilight, which was silent.

"He is one of the two unpredictable ninjas in out village. He is known to defeat enemies that possess power far greater than his own. He is known to defeat some of the members of the Akatsuki – a group of the most notorious criminals ever written in history."

"Akatsuki? You mean those ponies-I mean, those people up there in the hills?"

"Yeah. As you must have noticed, they wear the identical cloak that I'm wearing."

"So you're a criminal, too." Twilight looked at Max with annoyed eyes.

"I started wearing it back when I started training with Itachi. I was just a chore boy back then."

"I see." Twilight nodded.

Naruto walked up to the stairs. He saw Twilight's personal room, positioned in the right. When he turned left, he saw a room, with stairs leading to another room. He walked up to the stairs, but his hoof slid a little bit as he's navigating the flight of stairs. His heart pumped hard in one beat, and cooled down in a few seconds.

"Dagnabit, this pony form is troublesome." Naruto continued to rise up. Bowing down to watch his steps, he couldn't see what was in front of him. Raising up his head at the top of the stairs, he saw a large room. It had a clean floor, and three mats, pillows and blankets were laid out. There are also three windows on the walls. Just then, he sighted a pile of plastic bowls that resting its body around the sides of a small gray-colored box, half-opened and brimming with… the stuff, too. Naruto was temporarily muted with excitement.

"**R-ramen**!" He quickly rushed and looked at a bowl. It was true in its shape and form, its signature sticker, its smell faintly permeating from the thin sheet of protective plastic. He took a whiff, and the savory goodness went through his nostrils, soothing it with the heavenly scent.

"I owe you one, Max." Naruto took a good look around. Then, he saw a box, measuring 30 inches in length. Two notes hung from the top edge of the box. He walked and read the notes. They read:

"These things are ready and done. Detoxified and polished, complete with the modifications requested. –'Max' " Naruto read softly.

"Please inform Max right away that I'm gone, so there's no way to tell it sooner. –DJ." This left Naruto with a big question mark glued in his face.

[**Meanwhile…downstairs…**]

"Really?" Max said.

"Yeah. I have a score of two wins, three losses on Naruto. He's a formidable one, I say."

"I never thought you lost to him."

"Everything goes. Mostly, I forgot that he always uses smoke and deceit. I'm annoyed with myself whenever I remember that."

"Max, the…package…is in the room." Naruto spoke as if he was tired.

"My pleasure." Max walked up to the stairs. As the sight of him faded, Naruto talked to Twilight.

"Well, I like to know more about you. How long have you been here?"

"Just for two days, since I moved from Canterlot."

"What occupation do you have?"

"Currently I am Princess Celestia's new student, and Ponyville librarian."

"Explains everything."

Twilight felt that it's her turn for questions. "Well, what's your full name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Ooh-zoo-mah-kee?" Twilight pronounced his family name in syllables, sounding it out doubtfully.

"Yeah, that sounds right!" Naruto grinned. "The first to pronounce my name with proficiency!"

"Why do I find myself being fed by weird-sounding names?"

"I dunno. It's my clan name."

"What clan?"

"The Uzumaki clan. They are known for their mastery in sealing arts, and for their extremely long lifespan."

"So you are going to live a very long time?"

"Exactly! I could live for hundreds of years!"

"Well, not exactly extremely long…" Max descended down the stairs, with a **katana** sheathed in his left side.

"But they live long enough to see the next generation."

"They have no hayflick limit – but as age grows, the regeneration slows down. Therefore, they can still die of old age." Max added.

"Interesting!" Twilight exclaimed like she heard another trivia.

"You know what to do now, Twilight. What method do you prefer?" Max suddenly had look that seemed like Twilight and him knew what they are talking about.

"Hey Naruto! Why don't you visit Sweet Apple Acres? I'll catch you there."

"OK!"

Naruto sniffed the air. He gave a resounding sigh, and a looked at the vast cloud of trees. There stood a welcome sign which read, "Sweet Apple Acres". It arcs over a gate that connects to a white fence.

"Sweet Apple Acres! I hope that sign is true!" Naruto walked slowly to the land. While he walked, he saw a big, purple barn that stood out beside the mass of trees.

"That must be where they sleep in. Naturally. Naruto, what are you saying?" he addressed himself with a scolding tone for his stupidity.

"Ah, what a fine day," he felt the sunshine warm up the back of his neck. "It's probably afternoon, so Applejack must be sleeping. I hope she doesn't mind about me loitering around."

Naruto slowly walked into a tree shade. There, he slouched down, closing his eyes and collected his thoughts.

"How could they exist in another world like this? The Akatsuki, Itachi, Pervy Sage…"

He stared at an apple up in the tree he's slumped against. It looked red and shiny, and inspired by the welcome sign he saw, he felt the need to grab the apple. He stood up, and compared himself to the height of the tree.

"Too high." Naruto realized that his height was just one-third of the tree's height, or so.

"Well, it can't hurt to try making clones." He crossed his front legs. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He shouted, but no clone popped up. He only heard his voice echo, followed by the wind rustling tree leaves. With the lack of results, he felt the loss of more than 80% of his total power, reducing his ninja abilities to taijutsu.

"Man, this is troublesome." He slouched again, with a look of sadness on his face. "How did Max do it? Controlling his tail to release chakra? That kind of chakra control is far beyond my power."

Naruto closed his eyes to rest. "I can undo my disguise to reach the apple, but…"

"…it's too risky to be doing that. I'll blow my disguise if I did."

Naruto kept his eyes shut. The sunshine reflected on the ground, the barn, and back to Naruto eyes, making him see a red shade of light on his closed eyes.

"If there was a way to channel chakra to your body parts…."

"Help!" Naruto's ear twitched up. It sounded like a little **filly**.

"Wha-?! Who was that?" Naruto quickly looked at both sides, hoping for the pony to shout again.

"Somepony help!" Naruto thought for a moment.

"There's that funny accent. But, the voice is too high-pitched to be Applejack."

"Applejack!"

Naruto realized that his thinking doesn't make any progress in helping the mystery voice.

"Alright!" Naruto ran to the left, going a little bit back of behind the barn. His legs started to speed up, and get acquainted with the way a pony runs.

"I'm drow-bbbllrruph!"

"Sheez, she's drowning!" Naruto wanted to run faster, but he couldn't.

"_Gotta go fast! A disguise won't slow me down!"_

"Aah!" With extreme anger, he jumped by stopping quickly. His front legs lowered first, then, his hind legs. He raised his front legs, then jumped using his hind legs, and lo! He found himself perched up in a tree!

"Weird. I forgot that I can jump from tree to tree. Fuck my life." He took a look around, and saw a little filly, struggling to keep herself afloat by waving her front legs in the surface of the river. The river has unforgiving speed, but what such miracle that the filly has enough willpower to stay alive!

"Hang on!" Naruto shouted, while he jumped from tree to tree, exponentially decreasing his travel time. He landed on the edge of the river, and saw a filly that looked familiar- bearing a red mane, and a pale, light grayish olive coat. When Naruto saw the big, red ribbon on her mane, his memories came rushing back.

"That cake-pony!"

"Mister, save me!" The filly pleaded for her life.

"Hang on a little bit more!" Naruto closed his eyes.

"_I won't lose a pony for some stupid reason. You can do this!"_

Naruto closed his eyes and started to focus chakra on his hooves. But, even he knew what to do, which is to walk on water, his chakra buildup is slow.

"Help!"

"_Just a little more…"_

"I'm…drownblublublu…" The filly's energy drained away, as her body shut down from fatigue, her mind slowly drifting to her eternal sleep. Until…

A splash in the water saved the filly. She opened her eyes, and saw Naruto walking on water! She couldn't speak at first, and even if she can and she wants to, she still can't because her mind is not processing the mystery of walking water! Her mane is being clamped gently by Naruto's teeth, while he slowly walked to dry land. He placed the filly beside him, and he slumped again on a tree, breathing normally. As the filly shook off the water from her mane and coat, she started to speak.

"Who are you, mister?"

"I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." He reached out his hoof to touch hooves with the filly.

"Nah-rew-toe? Ooh-zoo-mah-kee?" the filly brohoofed Naruto. "Ah'm Apple Bloom. Nice to meet ya, mister!"

"Nice meeting you, too!"

"You're the one that was with Twilight, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Applebloom!" Applejack's voice echoed out.

"Sis!" Apple Bloom ran and hugged Applejack.

"Good golly, you're alright! What happened to you, Apple Bloom?"

"As Ah was sleepin' in a slope there…" Apple Bloom pointed out. "…Ah began to slide down! Apple Bloom's eyes began to water. "…Will you forgive me?"

"Of course, Apple Bloom!" Applejack hugged her once more. "Promise me you'll stay safe from now on, okay?"

"Okay."

Applejack looked at Naruto. "Oh, thank you, Naruto. Thank you for dropping by here. If you want, you can stay for dinner. That okay for your part?"

"Yeah, fine, as long Max doesn't reprimand me about it," Naruto pouted up on the sky.

"Max? Who's that?" Apple Bloom was very eager to know.

"You know…that spiky-haired pony? Who was with Applejack in the search for the Elements of Harmony?"

"Oh, that…"

"Or can you even understand what I'm saying?" Naruto bowed down his head.

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom exclaimed a lie.

"Well, according to my instincts, he'll be here in 3…2…1.."

And truer than ever, Max jumped off from the sign and into Naruto's right side.

"Just in the nick of time, yes?"

"Max, you're here!"

"Of course! I wouldn't leave my pal behind!"

"Excuse me, mister…are you Max? I'm Apple Bloom!"

He turned towards Apple Bloom. "That's right, Apple Bloom! I'm Max James Andrews. Call me Max for short."

"Well, Naruto, how thing are going?"

"Fine, for now." Naruto replied.

"But what for later?"

"Dunno…"

"Hey, Naruto, why don't you buck trees with Applejack?"

"Well, fine to me. Wanna join?"

Naruto paused for a second.

"_Bucking trees? What good will do to me?"_

"Y-yeah! S-sounds fun to m-me!" Naruto tried his best not to stutter.

"_The hell? Why do you need to hump apples?"_

"Well, then, let's get our bones crackin'! I'll prepare the buckets." Applejack went on to do gather their things. Naruto whispered to in Max's ear.

"Max, how do you buck trees?"

"Simple! Just kick the trunk with your hind legs!"

"Oh…that." Naruto's mind is in was peaceful at last.

"Didn't pick up the local lingo, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Try to read some terminologies once in a while. It'll help you raise your communication skills."

"Yes, boss."

"Naruto!" Applejack called out.

"Coming!"

"Alright, buck the tree." Naruto positioned himself in front of the tree. He gave a few seconds of looking before he turned away. Raising his back legs, behind, he kicked the tree. It made a thud, but the leaves didn't shake, let alone drop an apple.

Applejack giggled at Naruto. "Guess you're not that strong, I see. My li'l sis does a better job than you!"

Naruto sighed. "Ok." Naruto bucked harder. This time, it shook the leaves, but and half of all the apples fell on the buckets.

"Half of the apples. Not bad." Naruto kicked again, and all the apples fell to the buckets, filling it up.

"Good. On to the next tree."

Naruto did a lot of work. Two kicks here, two kicks there. In a few trees, Naruto was sweating, while Applejack did it with ease, and in one kick, too. Naruto somehow became jealous of Applejacks strength.

"Well, how about we know more about each other? Deal?"

"Fine with me." Naruto made a kick.

"Well, what's your full name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Ooh-zoo-mah-kee…" Applejack put a lot of thought on the name. "Weird. Lately, these names are strange."

"Maybe because…let's say…I hail from another place…"

"Manehattan? Canterlot?"

"I am from Konoha, from Japan." Naruto moved into another tree. He tried his hardest not to laugh.

"That explains it. That place is the birth of those strange-fangled words and names."

"Where are your parents?"

"They passed away shortly after my birth."

"I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. Well, what do you do for a living?" Applejack asked as she bucked a tree.

"Protect my people." Naruto dealt the final blow to the tree.

"So, you're a fighter, then?"

"Yeah." Naruto responded before he gave another buck to another tree.

"Well, let's brawl sometime." Applejack invited.

"B-brawl?!" Naruto's fear halted his last kick.


End file.
